Savita Devi
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Sabita Devi (1914–1965) was a
Hindi film 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 " Hollywood". The industry, producing films in t ...
actress in
Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...
. She is stated to be one of the "prominent" leading ladies of the "pioneering era" of Indian cinema along with
Mehtab Mehtab is both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Mehtab (actress) (1913–1997), Indian actress * Mehtab Abbasi (born 1953), Pakistani politician * Mehtab Hossain (born 1985), Indian footballer and coach ...
,
Bibbo Bibbo Bibbowski is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is typically portrayed as a close friend and supporter of Superman. Bibbo Bibbowski first appeared in '' The Adventures of Superman'' #428 (Ma ...
,
Durga Khote Durga Khote (née Vita Lad; 14 January 1905 − 22 September 1991) was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her time. She remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starr ...
, Gohar,
Devika Rani Devika Rani Chaudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Widely acknowledged as the First Lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani is regarded as one of the greatest ...
and Seeta Devi. A
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
by birth, she changed her name to find acceptability in Hindi cinema like the other Anglo-Indian and Jewish actresses of her time, Sulochana (Ruby Myers), Seeta Devi (Renee Smith), Madhuri (Beryl Claessen), and Manorama (Erin Daniels). After initially working with British Dominion Films Ltd.,
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
, she shifted to
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
and performed mainly in films produced by
Sagar Movietone Sagar Movietone also Sagar Films, Sagar Film Company and Sagar Productions was an Indian film production company involved in the making of films for Indian cinema. It was launched by Ardeshir Irani with Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel in 1 ...
with her co-star in most films being Motilal. Some of the popular films with Motilal were '' Dr. Madhurika'' (1935) and '' Kulvadhu'' (1937) directed by
Sarvottam Badami Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Telugu language, Telugu, and Tamil language, Tamil films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, ''Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set ...
. Their first film together was ''Shaher Ka Jadoo'' (1934), which was also Motilal's debut film, and then ''Lagna Bandhan'' (1936) both directed by Kaliprasad Ghosh. She acted in ''Silver King'' (1935) with Motilal. It was an action film directed by C. M. Luhar, which became a "huge success". Counted as one of the top three female artistes of her time, in 1938 she was the third highest paid actress after Sulochana (Ruby Myers) and Gohar, drawing a salary of Rs. 3000 per month. "Classic writers like K. M. Munshi and Ramanlal Vasantlal" were commissioned to write stories for her films, with elaborate sets and "special rehearsals" provided along with an overwhelming "pre-release publicity". One of the top directors of the time she worked with doing social genre films was Sarvottam Badami. She formed her own production company, Sudama Pictures, in collaboration with Sarvottam Badami along with the assistance of
Ranjit Studios Ranjit Studios, also known as Ranjit Movietone, was an Indian film production company with studio facilities located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It produced films between 1929 and mid-1970s. The studio was founded by Chandulal Shah along w ...
. From 1935–1943 Sabita acted in fifteen films, all directed by Badami. Some of the comedy films she acted in like '' Aap Ki Marzi'' (1939) and '' Ladies Only'' (1939), turned out to be big box office successes.


Family

Sabita Devi was born Iris Gasper into a Jewish family. Her father Percy Osborne Gasper, died in November 1938, in Bombay. Her mother remained as her manager-cum-companion. Sabita had two siblings, a brother and a sister.


Career


1930s

Her first film ''Kamaner Aagun'' (Flames Of The Flesh) was produced by British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta, in 1930. It was directed by Dinesh Ranjan Das and co-starred
Dhirendranath Ganguly Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. He had set up a number of ...
,
Debaki Bose Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan), Bu ...
,
Ramola Devi Ramola Devi (7 July 1917 – 10 December 1988) was an Indian Jewish actress of Baghdadi origin. Born Rachel Cohen, she became famous in the movie "The Cashier" ( Khazanchi) from 1941. She was a very successful movie star throughout India in ...
and Radharani. The film was a semi-historical version of the Queen of
Chittor Chittorgarh (; also Chitror or Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It wa ...
,
Rani Padmini Padmini, also known as Padmavati or Rani Padmavati, was a 13th–14th century queen of the Kingdom of Mewar in India. Several medieval texts mention her, although these versions are disparate and many modern historians question the extent of t ...
, committing
jauhar Jauhar, sometimes spelled Jowhar or Juhar, was a Hindu Rajput practice of mass self-immolation by women and girls in the Indian subcontinent to avoid capture, sex slavery, enslavement, and rape when facing certain defeat during a war. Some repo ...
to evade the enemy forces. In 1931, Sabita acted in ''Aparadhi'' (The Culprit) a social, written and directed by
Debaki Bose Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan), Bu ...
, starring P. C. Barua, Bhanu Bannerjee, Tincory Chakrabarty, Keshav Narayan Kale, Rampyari and Rose. It was a silent film made under the banner of Barua Film Unit, Calcutta. Her other silent films from this time include ''Takay Ki Na Hay'' (What Money Cannot Do) (1931) was directed by Dhirendranath Ganguly and produced by British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta. It starred Dhirendranath Ganguly, P. C. Barua and Radharani. ''Kanthahaar'' (Diamond Necklace) (1939) was directed by Kali Prasad Ghose for Indian Kinema Arts, Calcutta and starred Durgadas Bannerjee, Rajhans and Renubala. ''Maraner Pare'' (After The Death) (1931) directed by A. K. Roy for British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta and co-starred Dhirendranath Ganguly, Hem Gupta, Radharani and Kalidas. ''Bhagya Lakshmi'' (Wife's Destiny) (1932) directed by Kali Prasad Ghose with co-stars P. C. Barua, Durgadas Bannerjee, Khitish Roy Choudhary, Umasashi, Biren Ghosh and produced by Indian Kinema Arts, Calcutta. In 1933, she was cast in a religious film, ''
Radha Krishna Radha-Krishna (IAST , ) is the combined form of the Hindu god Krishna with his chief consort and ''shakti'' Radha. They are regarded as the feminine as well as the masculine realities of God and gender in Hinduism, God, in several Krishnaism, Kr ...
'', directed by Priyanath N. Ganguly and
Tulsi Lahiri Tulsi Lahiri (7 April 1897 – 22 June 1959) was a Bengali actor, director and play writer. Early life Lahiri was born in 1897 in a zamindar family of Naldanga village, Rangpur of British India. He passed B.A and B.L and started his lawyer caree ...
. Her co-stars were
Dhiraj Bhattacharya Dhiraj Bhattacharya (5 November 1905 - 1959) was an actor of Bengali and Hindi cinema who began in silent films. He was also a theater personality and writer. Early life Bhattacharya was born in a zamindar family of Panjia village, near Jessor ...
, Indubala, Amar Choudhary and Kamala Jharia. An East India Film Company production, it had music by Sunderdas Bhatia. ''Shaher Ka Jadoo'' in 1934 was a debut acting film for Motilal and was written and directed by Kali Prasad Ghose. The main stars in this social were Sabita, Kumar,
Sitara Devi Sitara Devi (born Dhanlakshmi; 8 November 1920 – 25 November 2014) was an Indian dancer of the classical Kathak style of dancing, a singer, and an actress. She was the recipient of several awards and accolades, and performed at several prest ...
, K. C. Dey, Miss Gulzar and Tarabai. The film was produced by
Sagar Movietone Sagar Movietone also Sagar Films, Sagar Film Company and Sagar Productions was an Indian film production company involved in the making of films for Indian cinema. It was launched by Ardeshir Irani with Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel in 1 ...
. She then acted in
Ezra Mir Ezra Mir (26 October 1903 – 7 March 1993) was an Indian film-maker, known for his documentary films. Mir changed his Jewish birth name, Edwyn Meyers, to Ezra Mir on the advice of Edwine Carewe who was the producer at Dolores Del Rio unit of U ...
's ''Farzande Hind'' also called ''Phantom of the Hills'', an action drama film. The film starred Sabita with Jal Merchant,
Yakub Yakub, Yaqub, Yaqoob, Yaqoub, Yacoub, Yakoub or Yaâkub (, also transliterated in other ways; ''Yakob,'' as commonly westernized) is a male given name. It is the Arabic version of Jacob and James. The Arabic form ''Ya'qūb/Ya'kūb'' may be direct ...
, Nyampally. Produced by Sagar, the music was composed by S. P. Rane. '' Grihalakshmi'' (Educated Wife) (1934) was an early woman-centric film and was a remake of the earlier silent film ''Bhaneli Bhamini'' (1927). Directed by
Sarvottam Badami Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Telugu language, Telugu, and Tamil language, Tamil films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, ''Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set ...
, it was produced by Sagar and had music by S. P. Rane. Her co-stars were Jal Merchant, Yakub, K. C. Dey and Lalita Devulkar. Her last film in 1934 was ''Chandra Gupta'' directed by A. R. Kardar and starring
Gul Hamid Gul Hamid (1905-1936) was an Indian actor. He started his acting career in silent films and later played leading roles in talkies. He had many honors to his credit. He acted in ''Heer Ranjha'', the first film produced in Punjabi and in '' Seet ...
, Nazir, Mazhar Khan and
Dhiraj Bhattacharya Dhiraj Bhattacharya (5 November 1905 - 1959) was an actor of Bengali and Hindi cinema who began in silent films. He was also a theater personality and writer. Early life Bhattacharya was born in a zamindar family of Panjia village, near Jessor ...
. Produced by East India Film Company, it had music by K. C. Dey. From 1935-1943 she acted in over fifteen films, all directed by Sarvottam Badami, with the exception of ''Silver King'', cited as one of the best stunt films of its time. It was directed by C. M. Luhar and starred Motilal with music by Pransukh Nayak. Badami and Sabita left Sagar Movietone to form Sudama Pictures in association with Ranjit Pictures. In 1935, Sabita acted in Badami's film, based on K. M. Munshi's story, '' Vengeance Is Mine'' (Ver Nu Vasulat). It co-starred Kumar, Yakub,
Sitara Devi Sitara Devi (born Dhanlakshmi; 8 November 1920 – 25 November 2014) was an Indian dancer of the classical Kathak style of dancing, a singer, and an actress. She was the recipient of several awards and accolades, and performed at several prest ...
, and
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
in a small role. Music director was S. P. Rane. In '' Dr. Madhurika'' she played an emancipated doctor opposite Motilal, with music by Pransukh Nayak and Ashok Ghosh. Some of the other successful films in the 1930s include '' Grama Kanya'' (1936), '' Kokila'' (1937) written by Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai, '' Kulvadhu'' (1937), ''
Teen Sau Din Ke Baad ''Teen Sau Din Ke Baad'' () is a 1938 Indian social comedy film directed by Sarvottam Badami. The film was produced by Sagar Movietone, with story written by Babubhai A. Mehta and dialogue by Wajahat Mirza and Waqif. The music was composed by A ...
'' also called ''300 Days & After'' (1939) a modern romantic drama in which Sabita's acting received a positive critique from Baburao Patel as an "artiste of great calibre", in a "light-hearted a portrayal of her difficult role" and that "she easily takes away all the laurels for acting". '' Ladies Only'' was a 1939 comedy film directed by Badami and starred
Bibbo Bibbo Bibbowski is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is typically portrayed as a close friend and supporter of Superman. Bibbo Bibbowski first appeared in '' The Adventures of Superman'' #428 (Ma ...
, Prabha Devi and Sabita playing three girls from different states of India, all in love with the hero played by
Surendra Surendra is an Indian masculine given name. Notable people with this name include: * Surendra (actor), Indian singer and actor * Surendra Bhave * Surendra Chaturvedi * Surendra Dubey * Surendra Gambhir * Surendra Hiranandani * Surendra Jain * ...
. This was the last comedy film Badami made for Sagar Movietone, before he left them after this film to form Sudama Pictures.Narwekar2012, p.54 Sabita acted in the next comedy film directed by Badami, this time for Sudama pictures. '' Aap Ki Marzi'' (1939) was based on the MGM produced,
Edward Buzzell Edward Buzzell (November 13, 1895 – January 11, 1985) was an American film actor and director whose credits include ''Child of Manhattan (film), Child of Manhattan'' (1933); ''Honolulu (1939 film), Honolulu'' (1939); the Marx Brothers fil ...
directed film ''
Paradise for Three ''Paradise for Three'', titled ''Romance for Three'' in the United Kingdom, is a 1938 American romantic comedy film starring Frank Morgan as a wealthy industrialist who learns about his Austrian workers by surreptitiously living among them. It wa ...
'' (1938).RajadhyakshaWillemen2014, p. 50 The music direction was by
Gyan Dutt Gyan Dutt was one of the most prominent music directors in Bollywood in the 1940s. He was music director for films such as The Secretary, ''Thokar'' (1939), '' Achhut'' (1940), ''Bhakta Surdas'' (1942), '' Sunehre Din'' (1949) and '' Ghayal'' (19 ...
and starred Motilal as the crossword puzzle winner who falls in love with Sabita's character.


1940s

'' Sajani'' (1940) was one of the first "socially relevant film(s)" that Badami made for Sudama pictures. It starred Sabita with
Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...
and Snehprabha Pradhan. '' Chingari'' (1940) a romantic melodrama from Sudama Productions with director Sarvottam Badami and co-starred
Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...
. The film was highly recommended by
Baburao Patel Baburao Patel (1904–1982) was an Indian publisher and writer, associated with films and politics. Career Baburao: A Pioneer of Indian Cinema. Baburao was a key figure in the early days of Indian cinema. He started his career as a journalist ...
editor of ''
Filmindia ''filmindia'' is an Indian monthly magazine covering Indian cinema and published in English language. Started by Baburao Patel in 1935, ''filmindia'' was the first English film periodical to be published from Bombay. The magazine was reportedly ...
'' as a contender for 1940 Award of the Film Journalists' Association Of India. '' Bambai Ki Sair'' also called ''Holiday in Bombay'' (1941) was directed by Badami for Sudama Productions and co-starred
Shobhana Samarth Shobhana Samarth (née Saroj Shilotri; 17 November 1916 – 9 February 2000) was an Indian director, actress and producer, who began her career in the early days of talkie movies in the Bollywood, Hindi film industry and continued in lead roles ...
and Arun. The film was reportedly "creating new box-office records at the Imperial Cinema when it was released". In 1947, she starred in ''Sarai Ke Bahar'' also known as ''Inquilab'' which is stated to be the only film directed by the famous Urdu writer Krishan Chander. It had lyrics by Niaz Haider and Vishwamitter Adil, with music by D. C. Dutt.GulazāraChatterjee2003, p. 312


Influence

*She's stated to have influenced P. C. Barua, who had joined the Board Of the British Dominion Film Company and acted in a few silent films, to start his own company. According to Chatterji, "He was inspired to become independent". After his return to Calcutta from Paris, Barua set up the Barua Film Unit. The first film under this banner was ''Aparadhi'' (1931), directed by Debaki Bose, with Sabita cast as the heroine. The film went on to become a "critical success". *She was one of the earliest female artists to write about film acting as a decent profession for ladies from respectable families. In a letter to the ''Filmland'' English weekly, November 1931 issue, titled "Why Shouldn't Respectable Ladies Join the Films", she countered claims of immorality and low moral standards of producers and directors, raised by an anonymous actress in the September 1931 issue, "Should Respectable Ladies Join Films". She stated that "the attitude a man takes towards a woman is governed by the latter's own integrity, by her actions, words and manner". She went on to state that people had a "mid-victorian conception" of women on stage and that "A Lady Artiste" was perhaps herself to blame for any unwanted advances (author).


Filmography

List:


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Sabita Actresses from Lahore Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses from Mumbai Indian Jews 1914 births 1965 deaths