Remembering Nalini Jaywant, one of Hindi cinema’s most versatile and beautiful actresses of yesteryears, on her 98th birth anniversary today (18/02/1926).

Remembering Nalini Jaywant, one of Hindi cinema’s most versatile and beautiful actresses of yesteryears, on her 98th birth anniversary today (18/02/1926).

Blessed with an extraordinarily serene face, as innocent as a cherub’s, Nalini Jaywant was a huge star in the early fifties. Along with Suraiya, Nargis, Madhubala and Meena Kumari, she was right at the top. Making her debut in the 1941 film ‘Bahen’, Nalini Jaywant was first noted in the 1948 hit, ‘Anokha Pyaar’, a love triangle that also featured Dilip Kumar and Nargis. She had to die in the end and there was a not a dry eye among the audience. Her first major hit was ‘Samadhi’ with Ashok Kumar, a pairing which lasted for 12 more films. It was also remembered for the jazzy number, ‘Gore Gore O Baanke Chhore’. Among her other successful movies with Ashok Kumar, were ‘Sangram’, ‘Nau Bahar,’ ‘Kafila’, ‘Mr X’ and ‘Naaz’ which was shot mostly in Egypt.

The star was much in demand for her versatility, which she exhibited in light, romantic films with an entertaining music score such as ‘Munimji,’ ‘Hum Sab Chor Hain’, ‘Naujawan’ and ‘Jadoo’. Mo wonder, she was accorded the No 1 female star status in 1954 and a 1950 Filmfare poll judged her as the ‘Most beautiful star of the Year.’ ‘Kala Pani’ fetched her a Filmfare Award. Nalini appeared in around 60 films, ‘Bombay Race Course’ -released in 1956- was her last as heroine.

Though Nalini made a comeback in 1983 in ‘Nastik’ as hero Amitabh Bachchan’s mother, later she simply disappeared from the movie scene, the media and public glare. In the end, her long years of film stardom did not matter, and no one seemed to care. On 20, December 2010, Nalini Jayawant died of a heart attack, alone and forgotten in a small bungalow in Mumbai’s Chembur suburb, where she had lived in seclusion for more than two decades.