Rehana was a film actress in Indian and Pakistani Cinema and was known as ''The Queen of Charm'' and ''The Dancing Damsel of Bombay''. She worked in leading roles in films such as '' Sagai'', '' Tadbir'', '' Hum Ek Hain'', ''

Early life

Rehana was born as Musarrat Jehan in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

Career

After doing dancing roles and small roles in films like the K. L. Saigal-

Suraiya Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), popularly known by the mononym Suraiya, was a popular actress and playback singer in India's Hindi-language films. She was active from 1936 to 1963, and was the most celebrated actress ...

-starrer '' Tadbir'', she got her major break in '' Hum Ek Hain'' (1946), which was incidentally

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was o ...

's first film. '' Sajan'' (1947) had Rehana in the female lead, and following the success of this film, as well as ''

Shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. From 1948 to 1951 was the best phase of her career as she did a variety of films paired opposite most of the top heroes of that time, like

Prem Adib Prem Adib (10 August 1917 – 25 December 1959) was an Indian actor. He was acclaimed as one of the top Bollywood actors of the 1940s, along with the likes of Pahari Sanyal, Ashok Kumar, P. C. Barua and Master Vinayak. Adib is best remembered f ...

in ''Actress'' (1948), with

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of ...

in '' Sunehre Din'' (1949) and '' Sargam'' (1950), with Dev Anand in ''Dilruba'' (1950), with

Shyam Shyam is a name of Krishna and an Indian masculine given name and surname. Notable people with this name include: ;Shyam * Shyam (actor), Indian Hindi film actor * Shyam (composer), an Indian music composer from Kerala *Shyam Benegal, Indian film ...

in ''Nirdosh'' (1950) and ''Surajmukhi'' (1950), with Shekhar in ''Adaa'' (1951) and with

Premnath Prem Nath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath, was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in over 100 films throughout his career ...

in '' Sagai'' (1951). Two of her biggest hits from these were '' Sargam'' (1950) and '' Sagai'' (1951). After 1952, her career sharply went on the decline as films like ''Rangeeli'' (1952), ''Chham Chhama Chham'' (1952), ''Hazar Raatein'' (1953) and '' Samrat'' (1954) all sank at the box office. With her career on the decline in

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 ...

, Rehana migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

with the hope of continuing her career there. In Pakistan, she worked in Urdu films like ''Raat ke Rahi'', ''Wehshi'', ''Apna Praya'', ''Shalimar'', '' Aulad'' and ''Dil Ne Tujhe Man Liya''. In 1995 she was a judge for the

Nigar Awards The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

Personal life

Rehana married producer Iqbal Shehzad who she worked with in the film ''Raat Ke Rahi'' but later they divorced and then she married Sabir Ahmed, a businessman from Karachi. With him she had three children.

Death

She died in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

on 23 April 2013.

Controversies

She is regarded as Hindi cinema's first "Jhatka Queen". Her movie ''Shin Sinaki Boobla Boo'' (1952) became the first film to be banned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting because of its low moral tone, even when it was certified for unrestricted public viewing by the censor board of India. Immense public support for the actress made the information and broadcasting ministry of the central government bow down and allow the unrestricted release of the film, but the huge delay reduced its success at the box office. In 2010, Rehana's family filed a case against film producer

Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television producer, film producer and director who works in Hindi cinema and soap opera. She is the joint managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited, which was founded in 1994. ...

and director Milan Luthria, at the Allahabad High Court and the legal notice says that the filmmaker has used the name 'Rehana' without their consent in the film ''

Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai ''Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language gangster film written by Rajat Arora and directed by Milan Luthria. It stars Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Prachi Desai and Randeep Hooda. Produced by Ekta Kapoor ...

'' and it has maligned her image.

Filmography

Film

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rehana 1931 births 20th-century Pakistani actresses People from Mumbai Indian film actresses 2013 deaths Actresses in Hindi cinema Pakistani film actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Punjabi cinema 21st-century Pakistani actresses Actresses in Urdu cinema 21st-century Indian actresses