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 de ...
Sachin, Gujarat
Sachin is area and Surat Municipal corporation in the Surat Metropolitan Region in the Indian state of Gujarat. The town has a large industrial area managed by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), SurSEZ (Surat Special Economic Zo ...
, to a Muslim family and named Najma. Her father, Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Mohammad Yakut Khan III, was the Nawab of Sachin, near
Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
in the state of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. Starting her career in the late 1920s with small roles in films like ''Second Wife'' (1928), ''Indira B. A.'' (1929) and ''Jayant'' (1929), she went on to do character roles before acting in the lead opposite Ashraf Khan in ''Veer Kunal'' (1932). After almost a decade of doing mainly action-oriented roles, she came into prominence with the Kidar Sharma-directed '' Chitralekha'' (1941).
She married her early co-star Ashraf Khan with whom she had a son. They divorced later and she married
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...
in 1946. Modi cast her in the historical drama ''
Jhansi Ki Rani
Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...
'' (1953), which in spite of having spectacular scenes and lavish sets could not work well at the box office. She stopped acting in films following 1953 except to act in her last role as a character artist in Modi's '' Samay Bada Balwan'' (1969). She died in Mumbai on 10 April 1997.
Career
Mehtab acted in her early feature film ''Kamaal-e-Shamsheer'' (1930) with W. M. Khan, which was produced by her mother under Excelsior film company. Her other films at this time include ''Hamara Hindustan'' (1930), a silent film which starred
Ruby Myers
Ruby Myers (1907 – 10 October 1983), better known by her stage name Sulochana, was an Indian silent film actress of Jewish ancestry, from the community of Baghdadi Jews in India.
In her heyday she was one of the highest paid actresses of h ...
, Jal Merchant and Mazhar Khan. She went on to act in several films mainly in action roles produced by the Sharda Film Company under different directors. Finally in 1932, she acted under the banner of Indian Art Productions as the main female lead in ''Veer Kunal'', opposite Ashraf Khan, an actor she was to marry and then divorce. She continued to work under different banners including Chandulal Shah for
Ranjit Movietone
Ranjit Studios, also known as Ranjit Movietone, was an Indian film production company with studio facilities located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It produced films between 1929 and mid-1970s. The studio was founded by Chandulal Shah along wit ...
in ''Bhola Shika'' (1933), directed by
Jayant Desai
Jayant Desai (born Jayantilal Jhinabhai Desai, 28 February 1909 – 19 April 1976) was an Indian film director and producer. After graduating from the University of Bombay Desai joined Ranjit Studios in 1929 where he directed numerous films inc ...
, with E. Billimoria as hero, and ''Ranchandi'' directed by Babubhai Jani opposite Navin Chandra. She also acted in a couple of films directed by
Jaddanbai
Jaddanbai Hussain (Hindi: जद्दनबाई हुसैन, Punjabi: ਜੱਦਨਬਾਈ ਹੁਸੈਨ, Urdu: ; 1892 – April 8, 1949; known professionally as Jaddanbai) was an Indian singer, music composer, dancer, actress, filmma ...
like ''Moti Ka Haar'' and ''Jeevan Swapna'', both in 1937.
Following the birth of her son, and subsequent divorce from Ashraf Khan, Mehtab acted in the Film Corporation of India film '' Qaidi'' (1940), which had Ramola, Madhuri, Wasti and Nandrekar co-starring along with her. She got a chance in the film Chitralekha (1941). ''Chitralekha'' was also the debut of actor
Bharat Bhushan
''Bharatbhushan Bhalla'' better known as ''Bharat Bhushan'' (14 June 1920 – 27 January 1992) was an Indian actor in Hindi language films, scriptwriter and producer, who is best remembered for playing Baiju Bawra in the 1952 film of the sam ...
, though in a small role. Mehtab was cast in '' Sharda'' (1942), along with Wasti, Ulhas and Nirmala Devi by A. R. Kardar for his Kardar Productions. The film is famous for the thirteen-year-old
Suraiya
Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), popularly known by the mononym Suraiya, was a popular actress and playback singer in India's Hindi-language films. She was active from 1936 to 1963, and was the most celebrated actress ...
, who became famous giving playback singing for a much older Mehtab. 1943 saw her acting in two more Kardar directed films; ''
Kanoon
''Kanoon'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language film directed by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Rajendra Kumar, Nanda, Ashok Kumar, Mehmood, Shashikala, Jeevan and Om Prakash. The film presents a case against capital punishment, arguing that witn ...
'' with
Shahu Modak
Shahu Modak (25 April 1918 – 11 May 1993) was an Indian actor who acted in many Hindi as well as Marathi movies. Shahu Modak was mostly famous for the mythological characters that he played. He mostly played the roles of Krishna, and Jñāneś ...
,
Nirmala Devi
Nirmala Devi, also known as Nirmala Arun (7 June 1927 15 June 1996), was an Indian actress in the 1940s and a Hindustani classical vocalist of the Patiala Gharana. She is the mother of Bollywood actor Govinda.
Nirmala Devi was the wife of ...
Noor Mohammed Charlie
Noor Mohammed Charlie (1911–1983), popularly known as Charlie, was a Pakistani actor born on 1 July 1911 in Ranavav village, Porbandar, Saurashtra, British India. Best known for his comedy roles, he was the first 'star' comedian and has been ...
, Wasti and Ulhas. The same year she did a Wadia Productions film directed by
Homi Wadia
Homi Wadia (22 May 1911 – 10 December 2004) was an Indian film director and producer in Bollywood (Hindi cinema). He was the co-founder of Wadia Movietone productions, established in 1933 and later after the closure of Wadiatone, he founded Ba ...
Trilok Kapoor
Trilok Kapoor (11 February 1912 23 September 1988) was an Indian actor and a member of the Kapoor family who worked in Bollywood films. He was the younger brother of actor Prithviraj Kapoor.
Early and personal life
Trilok was born as the seco ...
, with composer Firoz Nizami debuting as the music director.
In 1944, Sohrab Modi cast Mehtab in the Central Studio production '' Parakh''. Mehtab recalled in an interview that it was while shooting for this film that the two had grown closer. Modi did not act in the film which starred Mehtab with Yakub and Balwant Singh. ''Parakh'' had music by Khursheed Anwar and Saraswati Devi. Mehtab acted in films like ''Ismat'' (1944), ''Ek Din Ka Sultan'' (1945), ''Saathi'' (1946) and ''Shama'' (1946). In 1953, Modi produced, directed and acted in ''Jhansi Ki Rani'', which starred a now ageing Mehtab as the young
Jhansi Ki Rani
Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...
. The film was a big financial disaster and the last starring role of Mehtab. Mehtab acted in Modi's ''Samay Bada Balwan'' (1969) in a character role.
Personal life
Mehtab a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, married Sohrab Modi, a
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
, on 28 April 1946, her birthday. According to Mehtab, the marriage was not approved of by Modi's family. This was Mehtab's second marriage and she had an eight-year-old son Ismail, from the previous marriage to her first co-star Ashraf Khan. Her condition for marrying Modi was that her son, Ismail, stay with them. Modi talked the situation over with her ex-husband, regarding Ismail, who then lived with Mehtab and Modi following their marriage. Modi was twenty years older at 46 years and had just finished his relationship with
Naseem Banu
Naseem Banu (4 July 1916 – 18 June 2002) was an Indian actress. She was referred to as Naseem and known as "Beauty Queen" and the "first female superstar" of Indian Cinema. Starting her acting career in the mid-1930s she continued to act t ...
. Mehtab and Modi had one child together called Mehelli, who they brought up as a Parsi. Sohrab Modi died on 28 January 1984, at the age of 85 years. Mehtab died on 10 April 1997 in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
and was buried at the Bada Qabrastan,
Marine Lines
Marine Lines is a locality in South Mumbai. The name ''Marine Lines'' is derived from the Marine Battalion Lines, a military establishment built by the British in the 19th century. The battalion was later converted to an air force residential ...
, Mumbai.
Awards
Mehtab received the Best Actress award in a Hindi film for ''Parakh'' at the 8th Annual BFJA Awards.
Leatherface
Leatherface is a fictional character in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' film series created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. He first appears in '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' as a disfigured, cannibalistic and mentally unstable mass murdere ...
(1939)
*
Ek Hi Bhool
''Ek Hi Bhool'' () is a 1981 Indian Hindi-language drama film, produced by A. Purnachandra Rao under the Lakshmi Productions banner and directed by T. Rama Rao. The film stars Jeetendra and Rekha, with music composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal. I ...
Kanoon
''Kanoon'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language film directed by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Rajendra Kumar, Nanda, Ashok Kumar, Mehmood, Shashikala, Jeevan and Om Prakash. The film presents a case against capital punishment, arguing that witn ...
Ek Din Ka Sultan
''Ek Din Ka Sultan'' (King For A Day) is a List of Bollywood films of 1945, 1945 Hindi/Urdu historical drama film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi with story by Agha Jani Kashmiri. The production company was Minerva Movietone with cinematogra ...
Jhansi Ki Rani
Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...