Prema Narayan (born 4 April 1955) is a former Model and

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

actress-dancer. She has acted in Hindi and Bengali cinema. She was the Femina Miss India World 1971, and represented India at

Miss World 1971 Miss World 1971, the 21st edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 10 November 1971 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. 56 contestants competed for the Miss World and Lúcia Petterle from Brazil won the crown of Miss World 1971. She w ...

Early life

Prema Narayan was born in Kalimpong, West Bengal. She is the niece of actor

Anita Guha Anita Guha (17 January 1932 – 20 June 2007) was an Indian actress who usually played mythological characters in films. She became known for playing the title role in ''Jai Santoshi Maa'' (1975). Previously, she had played Sita in other mytholo ...

Career

Prema Narayan was an English teacher in a convent school. Later she opted for modelling. In 1971, she participated in

Femina Miss India Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India that annually selects representatives to compete in Miss World, one of the Big Four major international beauty pageants. It is organised by '' Femina'', a women's magazine ...

contest and was crowned Femina Miss India World 1971. She represented India at

but did not win. The same year she was appointed to represent India at Queen of the Pacific pageant held in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

where she was crowned 1st runner-up.

Acting career

She chose Bollywood after offers started coming her way after winning the

contest. Her performance in films such as '' Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain'' (1973) and '' Maa Bahen Aur Biwi'' (1973) were noticed. She did not restrict herself as a leading lady as she was mostly considered for dancer/vamp or supporting roles. She got recognition for her work on being nominated in 1976 in

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 Filmf ...

category for her performance as a sensuous village belle ''Dhanno'' in the Uttam Kumar-Sharmila Tagore film '' Amanush'' (1975). This role was a total deviation from her modern sex-symbol well-educated western image. Besides being noticed for her acting prowess she was also appreciated for her western-style dance numbers. She regularly featured in lower-grade horror films including ''Hotel'', ''Mangalsutra'', ''Saat Saal Baad'' and ''Ghabrahat''. Her last appearance was in '' Yeh Basti Badmashon Ki'' (1999).

Personal life

She is married to Rajiv, a lawyer. The couple has two adult sons.

Filmography

Awards & nominations

: '' Amanush'': Nominated

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Narayan, Prema 1955 births Living people Indian beauty pageant winners Miss World 1971 delegates Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian film actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Female models from West Bengal Actresses from West Bengal