Dina Pathak

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Dina Pathak
Born Dina Gandhi [1]
March 4, 1922
Died October 11, 2002
Mumbai
Years active 1948-2002
Spouse(s) Baldev Pathak

Dina Pathak or Deena Pathak (March 4, 1922 - October 11, 2002) was a veteran Gujarati theatre and film actress.

A doyen of Hindi and Gujarati films as well as theatre, Dina Pathak acted in over 120 films, in a career spanning over six decades.

She is most known for her memorable roles in Hindi films Gol Maal and Khubsoorat. Apart from being a favourite of the Art Cinema in India, where she essayed powerful roles in films like, Koshish, Umrao Jaan, Mirch Masala and Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!. [2]

Her notable Gujarati films were, Moti Ba, Malela Jeev, Bhavani Bhavai while her well known plays include Dinglegar, Doll's House, 'Vijan Sheni' and 'Hayavadana'.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Life

Dina Pathak was born in 1922 in Bhavnagar, to conservative Gujarati family from Junagadh, Gujarat.

Despite being born in an orthodox brahimin family, she was enamoured by fashion and films, and even while she was a teenager, started acting in plays and won rave reviews from the critics.

At a young age and joined the Indian National Theatre as a theatre actress for theatrical performances. She did her college from Bombay and became known for her student activism; this led to her close association with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA). [3]

[edit] Career

She created quite a stir with her plays in Gujarat in the 1940s. The audience queued up to watch her play the lead in ‘Maina Gurjari’.

Although she made her film debut with a Gujarati film, 'Kariyawar' (1948), she retreated back into theatre after acting just one film, only to return nearly two decades later.

Meanwhile she continued playing to packed audience in plays by Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and Shanti Bardhan’s Ballet troupe. [4] Later she formed her own theatre group in Ahmedabad called 'Natmandal', [5] even today, she is remembered as a stalwart performer and a theatre activist at IPTA. [6]

She was married Baldev Pathak and had two daughters, Supriya Pathak (b. 1961) and Ratna Pathak.

At 44 years of age, she made a comeback into films, with Basu Bhattacharya’s Uski Kahani (1966), for which she won the Bengal Journalists Association Award. She made four films in the 1960s, including Hrishikesh Mukherjee classic Satyakam (1969), Saat Hindustani (1969), starring Amitabh Bachchan in his debut role and the Merchant Ivory Productions, The Guru (1969).

By the times 1970s, she had become a favourite of Art and commercial films alike, playing powerful motherly and grandmotherly roles. It was in these films that she became recognized as the Grand-Old-Mother of Hindi films.

Films that stand out in this era are Gulzar's Mausam (1975), Kinara (1977), and Kitaab (1977), and sweet comedies like, Chitchor (1976), Gharaonda (1977), and also in an art cinema classic Bhumika (1977), Dina Pathak stood equally tall amidst another legend, Smita Patil, in career best performance.

Just as 70's ended brilliantly as she shined in the comedy classic Golmaal (1979), and the next decade began with another career best, Khoobsurat in (1980), closely followed by Bhavni Bhavai (1980).

In 1980 she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. In the 80s she also appeared on the popular TV series, Malgudi Days. In 1984 she starred in David Lean classic A Passage to India . Though she had far from given career best she gave another powerful performance in Ketan Mehta's Mirch Masala (1985), Govind Nihalani's Tamas (1986) and once again she worked with Gulzar in Ijaazat (1987).

Perhaps her career best came in another comedy, when in 2002 she appeared in Indo-Canadian film, Bollywood/Hollywood for which she was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role at the Genie Awards.

She completed her last film, Pinjar (2003), but died before its release, after a heart attack in 2002 in Bandra, Bombay. [7]

[edit] Selected Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sangeet Natak Akademi Honours
  2. ^ The Times of India, 11 Oct 2002
  3. ^ The Tribune, Friday, April 11, 1999
  4. ^ Remembering Dina Pathak
  5. ^ Shaili Sathyu
  6. ^ IPTA
  7. ^ The Grand Dame of Indian Cinema, The Tribune, April 11, 1999

[edit] External links

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