Versatility Personified – A Tribute to the actress Nutan

By Ipshita Sarkar | June 4, 2015

She is the winner of five Filmfare award and one of the most versatile actress Hindi cinema has ever witnessed. I am talking about the actress Nutan who was born on June 4th, 1936. An actress who was critically acclaimed throughout her career and was noticed for the roles she used to play in movies.

Nutan was born in a Marathi family of film background to the director and poet Kumarsen Samarath and actress Shobhana Samarath. Her break in the Bollywood came when was just fourteen years old, with the movie Hamari Beti (1950). Her charm in the glamorous world continued and helped her win the title of Miss India in 1952.

Her big break in the Bollywood came with the movie Seema (1955) for which she won her first Filmfare award in the best actress category. Then there was no looking back for Nutan. Soon she was featured in movies like Paying Guest (1957) opposite to Dev Anand, Anari (1959) with Raj Kapoor, Sujata (1959) with Sunil Dutt, and then Saraswatichandra (1968) an Devi (1970). If you are thinking that this is the end, then I must tell you that you are absolutely wrong. This actress has a long records of movies and has engraved her name in Hindi cinema as one of the versatile actress.

Her next big success was Chhalia (1960) with Raj Kapoor which won her the second Filmfare award for best actress. She was paired again with Dev Anand for the movie Manzil (1960) and Tere Ghar ke Samne (1963). Year 1963 proved to be a great year for Nutan. She played the challenging role of Kalyani in Bimal Roy’s Bandini (1963), with Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra for which she received her third Filmfare award and earned a lot of appreciation especially from film critics. This movie is remembered even today for Nutan’s extraordinary performance.

She won her next Filmfare award for the movie Milan (1967) and continuing with her practice  to receive the prestigious award Nutan won her last Filmfare for the movie Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) where she made a powerful comeback with the role of Sanjukta Chauhan, at the age of forty two which was little unconventional for the heroines back then.  She also starred opposite to Amitabh Bachchan in the movie Saudagar (1973).

A true actor, Nutan continued to do movies till the last stage of her life. Meri Jung (1985), Naam (1986), Karma (1986) and Kanoon Apna Apna (1989) are some of her movies of the last stage of her career. Among all,  Karma with Dilip Kumar won her again the Filmfare award but this time for best supporting actress category.

In 1959 she married Rajnish Behl who was a naval Lieutenant Commander. Their son Monish Behl is also an actor today in Bollywood. Nutan’s younger sister Tanuja is also a film actress and her  niece Kajol  (Tanuja’s daughter), taking on the footstep of her aunt is considered as one of the accomplished actress in Hindi Cinema. Nutan died of cancer in February 1991, but  made her name immortal through the roles she had played. She had made an impact with her versatile roles and continue to be the inspiration for many heroines.

This article would be incomplete without listening to some of her melodious and hit numbers

1) A melodious number from the movie Anari

 

2) A song from the movie Saraswati Chandra

 

3) ‘Chodd Do Anchal’ from Paying Guest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuMgYRG3vPU

 

4) One the most romantic song, from the movie Tere Ghar Ke Samne

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plAkyLrQIdI

 

5) Sawan ka Mahina from Milan

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFwNA79OViw