Sushila Rani Patel (1918–2014) was an Indian classical singer, actress, vocalist, doctor, and journalist. She established Shiv Sangeetanjali, a school for classical music.

Career

Sushila Rani Patel began her singing career in 1942 when she signed a recording contract with

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

music company. In the early years of her career, she was helped 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 ...

. In 1946 Rani acted in two films, '' Gwalan'' opposite

Trilok Kapoor Trilok Kapoor (11 February 1912 23 September 1988) was an Indian actor and a member of the Kapoor family who worked in Bollywood films. He was the younger brother of actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Early and personal life Born in the Kapoor Haveli i ...

and ''Draupadias'', playing the lead actor and singer. Both films fared poorly at the box-office. They were produced by Baburao Patel whom she later married. Continuing with her singing career, Rani trained with renowned classical singers like Mogubai Kurdikar and later with Sundarabai Jadhav. In 1961 Rani and her husband Baburao Patel set up Shiv Sangeetanjali, a school for classical music. It was established to encourage classical music and also discover new talent. Some of her students were Pradeep Barot, Ronu Majumdar, Sadanand Nayampilli, Dhanashree Pandit Rai and Nityanand Haldipur. Shiv Sangeetanjali was later amalgamated into the Sushilarani Baburao Patel Trust. Rani and her husband also ran a film business-related magazine called ''

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 ...

'', later to evolve into the more political ''

Mother India ''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village wo ...

''. Rani and Baburao Patel wrote under the pseudonyms "Judas" and "Hyacinth". Their column was called ''Bombay Calling''. Almost the entire content of the magazine was produced by them. Rani would personally conduct interviews with film personalities. She was close to actress

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. She is considered as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. One of the country ...

, who had started acting at a young age, and taught her to speak, read, and write English.

Later years

In her later years, Rani was involved in a property dispute with the children and grandchildren of her late husband's second wife over the ownership of their House. Rani continued to run her classical music school until her death in 2014 at the age of 96.

Awards

Rani received the Maharashtra Rajya Sanskritik Puraskar, and in 2002 the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Sushila Rani 1918 births 2014 deaths Indian women classical singers Singers from Mumbai Women musicians from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award