Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in
independent cinema and supporting work in mainstream Bollywood productions, Jalal has received such accolades as four
Filmfare Awards and two
Bengal Film Journalists Association Awards.
Jalal started her career with ''Taqdeer'' (1967). She went on to play leading and supporting roles in numerous motion pictures through the 1970s and early 80s. She is widely remembered for her roles in ''
Paras'' (1971), ''
Henna'' (1991) and ''
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (1995), all of which garnered the
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the Filmfare ...
. She became a household name after portraying motherly roles and strong female characters in the 1990s and the early 2000s. She has also won the
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance for her role in ''
Mammo
''Mammo'' is a 1994 Indian Hindi film by Shyam Benegal. It stars Farida Jalal, Surekha Sikri, Amit Phalke and Rajit Kapur.
The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1995. Farida Jalal won Filmfare Critics Award ...
'' (1994). She won the Best Actress Award at the 2012 Harlem International Film Festival for her role in ''
A Gran Plan
''A Gran Plan'' is a 2012 English independent drama film written and directed by Sangeeta Nambiar, and produced by Prema Menon under the banner of Playacting Productions. It features veteran Indian actress Farida Jalal in the lead role.
Plot
The ...
'' (2012).
She has successfully transitioned to numerous shows on
Indian television
The television industry in India is very diverse and produces thousands of programs in many of the Indian languages. More than half of all Indian households own a television. As of 2016, the country had over 857 channels of which 184 were pay ...
alongside her work in films. Some of her notable works are the sitcom ''
Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi
''Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi'' (literal meaning: 'Such is Life') is a sitcom that aired on DD National in 1984. It was written by comedy writer Sharad Joshi and directed by Kundan Shah, S. S. Oberoi and ''Raman Kumar''.
Plot
The episodes revolved aro ...
'', ''
Dekh Bhai Dekh'', ''
Shararat'' and ''
Ammaji Ki Galli
''Ammaji Ki Galli'' is an Indian sitcom which aired on SAB TV from 20 June 2011 to 23 September 2011. The show is written by Divy Nidhi Sharma and Aparajita Sharma and produced by Contiloe Entertainment.
Plot
The show revolves around the lives o ...
''. She was seen in
Zee TV's ''
Satrangi Sasural
''Satrangi Sasural'' (international title: 7 Bridges to Cross) is a Hindi Indian soap opera, which was broadcast on Zee TV channel from December 2014 to March 2016. The show is an adaption of the Zee Marathi series ''Honar Sun Me Hya Gharchi' ...
'' portraying the role of Gomti Vatsal a.k.a. Dadi Maa and famous for Naani's role in Star Plus's Shararat.
Career
Farida Jalal, who was born on 18 May 1950 in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
India, started her career in the 1960s when she won the United Film Producers Talent Hunt sponsored by
Filmfare in 1965. She, along with
Rajesh Khanna was chosen as a finalist and both were presented on stage as winners at the Filmfare Awards function. She got her first film offer for ''Taqdeer'' from
Tarachand Barjatya
Tarachand Barjatya (10 May 1914 – 21 September 1992) was an Indian film producer. He has produced many Hindi films from the 1960s through to the 1980s. He founded Rajshri Productions which continues to produce films even today. His mainstay w ...
who happened to be in the audience.
[Farida Jalal – Interview (2000)](_blank)
, "Cineplot.com" In an interview in 2014, she said, when asked her about the initial part of her career: "I started my acting career when I was just out of my school St Joseph's Convent in Panchgani, in a film called ''Taqdeer''. I took part in a talent contest and even won. Kaka (Rajesh Khanna) and I were the finalists. How was I to know that I'd soon be doing a film ''Aradhana'' with him?".
She usually played the sister or rejected fiancée of the male lead, but almost never the female lead. One of her most critically acclaimed roles is in ''
Bobby
Bobby or Bobbie may refer to:
People
* Bobby (given name), a list of names
* Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh
* Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea
* Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter
* Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...
'', where she played the part of a
mentally disabled
Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...
would-be fiancée of
Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films. He was the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards and a National Film Award.
Born into t ...
. During the 1980s, her roles progressed from sister and girlfriend to aunt, mother, or grandmother. She is also remembered for her part in ''Aradhana'', in which she plays
Rajesh Khanna's girlfriend, and sings the song "Baagon mein baahar hai, kaliyon pe nikhaar hai" (loosely translated as "The gardens are fine, the buds are out).
When asked as to how she started getting typecast as a hero's sister, she quoted in an interview: "It all started with ''Gopi'' where I was offered the greatest Mr Dilip Kumar's sister's role. Forget about refusing, I jumped at the offer. Even if I had the chance to just go and observe him on the set I'd have done it. I love the man. I remember during those days each and every actor was copying Dilip Saab whether it was Dharmendra, Jeetendra, or Manoj Kumar. I was much in demand as Dilip Saab's sister. Every hero wanted the same. Every actor wanted me to play his sister. Sometimes the sister was the film's heroine. The official heroine would just sing her songs, whereas I had all the dramatic scenes. I got my recognition and the awards. In a film called ''Paras'' I was Sanjeev Kumar's sister. But I had a lot more to do than Raakhee-di who played the heroine. I got my first award for it. Then I got my second award for ''Majboor'', a film written by Salimbhai and Javedbhai where Bachchan Saab played my brother. It was so heartening. Why would I want to be heroine when I was getting the stronger parts as the sister?"
She acted for over 40 years, only taking a break during 1983 and 1990 when she settled in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
.
During the 1990s, Jalal had a part in many major hits in India, among them ''
Raja Hindustani
''Raja Hindustani/Prema Bandham''(/ప్రేమ బంధం) is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Dharmesh Darshan. It tells the story of a cab driver from a small town who falls in love with a rich young woman. ...
'', ''
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'', ''
Dil To Pagal Hai
''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...
'', ''
Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai'', ''
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' and ''
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'', for which she won a
Filmfare Award
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
for
Best Supporting Actress in 1995. Farida Jalal played the lead in the film ''Mammo''. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Jalal won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. She acted in many television serials, such as the hit sitcom ''Dekh Bahi Dekh''.
She was grandly acclaimed for her role in the 1994 film ''
Mammo
''Mammo'' is a 1994 Indian Hindi film by Shyam Benegal. It stars Farida Jalal, Surekha Sikri, Amit Phalke and Rajit Kapur.
The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1995. Farida Jalal won Filmfare Critics Award ...
'', for which she received the Filmfare Best Performance Award. Earlier, she was also nominated multiple times for 'Best Supporting Actress Award', one for the Amitabh Bachchan-Parveen Babi-Pran starrer ''Majboor'' where she played Amitabh's disabled sister.
Farida Jalal though, could not get a major break as heroine against any big star except Rajesh Khanna in ''Aaradhana'', but she played the lead role in ''Jeevan Rekha'' in which her husband Tabrez was the hero. Pran and Ajit were also in the film. A song of the film; "Yaar mere, meri baahon me aaja" by
Mohammed Rafi from this film had become popular, and is still popular.
Jalal starred in ''Shararat (Thoda Jadu, Thodi Nazaakat)'', in which she played a leading role. The comedy is currently airing on the
Disney Channel.
In 2005, she co-hosted the 50th
Filmfare Awards alongside
Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.
Khan ...
and
Sonali Bendre
Sonali Bendre (born 1 January 1975) is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. She did modelling assignments prior to making her acting debut with '' Aag'' (1994), which won her the Filmfare Award for N ...
, in Mumbai. In 2008, she made a special appearance in the
Punjabi film ''
Yaariyan''. Recently, she appeared in the soap opera ''
Balika Vadhu''.
Farida Jalal did lot of Hindi dubbing for other actresses as well. Her notable work was for Swaroop Sampat (Naram Garam), Archana (Buddha Mil Gaya), Jaya Prada (Takkar).
In 2017, she was the victim of a death hoax. On 19 February, rumours did the rounds that she had died. Annoyed, the lady asked her publicist to put the rumours to rest.
Personal life
Jalal was married to actor Tabrez Barmavar, who hailed from
Bhatkal
Bhatkal, is a coastal town in the Uttara Kannada District of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bhatkal lies on National Highway 66, which runs between Mumbai and Kanyakumari, and has Bhatkal railway station which is one of the major railway s ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. She met her husband on the sets of Jeevan Rekha and fell in love in the course of the film and got married in November 1978. As she was not getting too many film offers after marriage, the couple moved to
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
where her husband had a soap factory business.
They have a son named Yaseen.
Her husband died in September 2003.
Filmography
Film
Television
Web
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalal, Farida
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Living people
1949 births
Indian film actresses
Indian television actresses
Indian women television presenters
Indian television presenters
Actresses from New Delhi
Actresses in Tamil cinema
20th-century Indian actresses
21st-century Indian actresses
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Actresses in Hindi television
Filmfare Awards winners