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 ''Jai Santoshi Maa'' is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language devotional film directed by Vijay Sharma and written R. Priyadarshi. Santoshī Mā (also called Santoshi Mata) is the goddess of satisfaction. Usha Mangeshkar, sang the devotional songs for t ...

'' (1975). Previously, she had played

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

in other mythological films; '' Sampoorna Ramayana'' (1961), ''Shree Ram Bharat Milap'' (1965) and ''Tulsi Vivah'' (1971). Besides this, she also played notable roles in films such as '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959), ''Purnima'' (1965), ''Pyar Ki Rahen ''(1959), ''Gateway of India'' (1957), ''Dekh Kabira Roya'' (1957), ''Lukochuri'' (1958) and ''Sanjog'' (1961).

Career

She came to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

in the 1950s as a beauty pageant contestant when she was 15 years old. She became an actress there and made her film debut in '' Tonga-wali'' (1955). She moved on to hit films such as '' Dekh Kabira Roya'' (1957), '' Sharada'' (1957), and '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'', for which she earned nomination 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 Filmfare ...

category, the only nomination of her career. In 1961, she appeared as Sita, in

Babubhai Mistry Babubhai Mistry (5 September 1918 – 20 December 2010) was an Indian film director and special effects pioneer who is best known for his films based on Hindu mythology, such as ''Sampoorna Ramayana'' (1961), ''Mahabharat (1965 film), Mahabhar ...

's '' Sampoorna Ramayana'', which made her a household name. But it was her title role in ''

'' (1975) that brought her the most fame. She had never even heard of goddess Santoshi until she was offered the role, as this was a little-known goddess. It was only a guest appearance, and her scenes were shot in 10–12 days. She fasted during the shooting. The low-budget pic was a surprise hit, and broke box office records while becoming a cultural phenomenon. The goddess Santoshi now became a famous goddess, and women all over India worshipped her. People treated the movie theatres showing ''Jai Santoshi Maa'' as a temple, bringing offerings of food, leaving slippers at the door. Guha claimed that people came to her asking her to bless them, as they perceived her to be a real goddess. However, she never became a devotee of the goddess herself, claiming that she was a devotee of the goddess

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

.On playing Santoshi Ma

Rediff.com Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...

. Other mythological films she acted in include ''Kavi Kalidas'' (1959), ''Jai Dwarkadesh'' (1977) and ''Krishna Krishna'' (1986). She wasn't happy that she became typecast as a mythological actress, because acting offers eventually stopped coming her way. Her earlier credits include period films such as '' Sangeet Samrat Tansen'' (1962), ''Kan Kan Mein Bhagwan'' (1963) and ''Veer Bhimsen'' (1964). She played

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

's adoptive mother in the huge hit '' Aradhana'' (1969).

Personal life

She was married to actor Manik Dutt; they had no biological children. They adopted a girl child later . After her husband's death, she lived alone in

where she died of

cardiac failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pre ...

on 20 June 2007. Anita Guha is the maternal aunt of actor

Prema Narayan Prema Narayan (born 4 April 1955) is an Indian former actress, model, dancer and beauty pageant titleholder. She has acted in Hindi and Bengali cinema. She was the Femina Miss India World 1971, and represented India at Miss World 1971. Early l ...

. Prema is the daughter of her sister Anuradha Guha.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

* 1960:

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

: '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'': ''Nominated''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guha, Anita Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses from Mumbai 1932 births 2007 deaths Place of birth missing 20th-century Indian actresses Bengali actresses