Durgabai Kamat (c. 1879 – 17 May 1997) was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

actress, who was the first actress in

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

Early and personal life

Kamat was born in a

brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family. She was also the maternal grandmother of veteran Marathi actor

Chandrakant Gokhale Chandrakant Raghunath Gokhale (7 January 1921 – 20 June 2008) was a well-known veteran Marathi film and stage actor and singer. Gokhale's mother, Kamlabai Gokhale (nee Kamlabai Kamat) was the first female child actor of the Indian cinema. Gok ...

, and the great-grandmother of actors

Vikram Gokhale Vikram Gokhale (14 November 1945 – 26 November 2022) was an Indian film, television and stage actor, noted for his roles in Marathi theatre, Hindi films and television. He was the son of the Veteran Marathi theater and film actor, Chandrakant ...

and

Mohan Gokhale Mohan Gokhale (7 November 1953 – 29 April 1999) was an Indian film, television and theater actor who has worked in art films such as '' Sparsh'', ''Bhavni Bhavai'' and ''Mirch Masala''. His father was a senior journalist and Editor of the wee ...

Career

In the early 1900s, acting in film or theatre was a taboo for women, so much so

Dadasaheb Phalke Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪ʱuɳɖiɾaːd͡ʒ pʰaːɭke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke () (30 April 1870 – 16 February 1944), was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as "the Father of In ...

, the father of Indian cinema, had to use male actors for female roles in first Indian film, ''

Raja Harishchandra ''Raja Harishchandra'' () is a 1913 Indian silent film directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke. It is often considered the first full-length Indian feature film. ''Raja Harishchandra'' features Dattatraya Damodar Dabke, Anna Salunke, Bhalc ...

''. However with its success, female actresses were encouraged. Thus he introduced Kamat in his 1913 second movie ''

Mohini Bhasmasur ''Mohini Bhasmasur'' is a 1913 Indian mythological film directed by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke and starring Kamlabai Gokhale and Durgabai Kamat. It is India's and Phalke's second full-length feature film. ''Mohini Bhasmasur'' is the first Indian fi ...

'' as a leading lady Parvati, while her daughter

Kamlabai Gokhale Kamlabai Gokhale (born Kamlabai Kamath; 1900 – 17 May 1998) was one of the first actresses in Indian cinema, along with her mother Durgabai Kamat. Personal life She was the daughter of Durgabai Kamat and Anand Kamat Nasnodkar, a professor o ...

, played the role of Mohini, thus becoming the first female child actress of Indian cinema. After Kamat, other actresses started working in cinema.

Death

Kamat died on 17 May 1997, in Pune, Maharashtra, at the age of 117.

Filmography

References

Actresses from Pune 1870s births 1997 deaths Place of birth missing Indian silent film actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Marathi actresses Actresses in British India {{India-actor-stub