Remembering the vivacious and beautiful Geeta Bali, who passed away on this day (21 January).

Remembering the vivacious and beautiful Geeta Bali, who passed away on this day (21 January). Geeta Bali was only 35-years-old when she died in 1965.

Endowed with an effervescent natural personality and a great sense of comic timing, Geeta Bali acted in 70 films in a career spanning 12 years. Born as Harikirtan Kaur in 1930 in pre-partition Amritsar, Punjab, it was extreme poverty that brought this daughter of a Sikh missionary to the world of films, which she conquered with a string of hits that included Badi Bahen (1949), Baware Nain (1950), Baazi (1951), Albela (1951) and Anand Math (1952).

In 1955, she married the as-yet-unsuccessful Shammi Kapoor. She became a mother of two — a son and a daughter — while her career, although somewhat sidelined, continued.

On the sets of Rano — a Punjabi film, the actress contracted smallpox from which she never recovered. Geeta Bali passed away in the winter of 1965, at the young age of 35.

The actress who adorned the silver screen with her endearing presence will always be remembered for her grace and spirit!