Dulari (real name Ambika Gautam) (18 April 1928 – 18 January 2013) was an Indian actress, who worked as character actors in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

, appearing in 135 films, most notably '' Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai'' (1961), '' Mujhe Jeene Do'' (1963), ''

Teesri Kasam ''Teesri Kasam'' () is a 1966 Hindi, Hindi language drama film directed by Basu Bhattacharya and produced by lyricist Shailendra (lyricist), Shailendra. It is based on the short story ''Mare Gaye Gulfam'', by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Re ...

'' (1966), '' Padosan'' (1968) and '' Deewaar'' (1975).

Early life

Dulari was born on 18 April 1928 in

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. Her real name was Ambika Gautam. She was a Kanyakubja Brahmin from the

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

region of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. She was nick-named Rajdulari and later on only Dulari remained by which she was known.

Career

Forced to look for work after her father's illness, Dulari made her film debut with '' Bahen''(1941), '' Hamari Baat'' (1943), produced by

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. Afte ...

, and went to appear as a character actor in over 135 films in the following six decades. Her last screen appearance was in '' Ziddi'' (1997) directed by Guddu Dhanoa. Her most notable role was in Jeevan Jyoti (1953). Her other important roles were in ''Pati Seva'', ''Rangeen Kahani'' (1945) and some Gujarati films, ''Chundi ane Chokha'' (1957), ''Gunsundari'' (1948), ''Mangal Fera'' (1948).Dulari - İnterview on Cineplot
/ref> Her other films are ''Karyavar'' (Gujarati), ''Aankh ka Taara'', ''Akhri Daku'', ''Darinda'', ''Ahuti'', ''Naastik'', ''Dillagi'' and ''Darwaza''. She regularly played the loving but conservative mother figure in the late 1960s through the late 1970s. Prominent roles of that time include films like ''Padosan'', ''Johny Mera Naam'', and ''Deewaar'', among others.

Personal life

She married sound recordist J. B. Jagtap in 1952, and took a break from acting for nine years. There are limited details available about her family and personal relationships. It is known that Dulari's career did not overshadow her commitment to her family, and she maintained a balance between her professional and personal responsibilities. She retired from acting in the 1980s and lived a quiet life thereafter.

Death

She died in an old age home in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, Maharashtra, aged 84. She had been suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, and was bedridden for over two years. Through the last years of her life Cine & TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) had started providing her financial assistance after veteran actress Waheeda Rehman brought up her case.

Selected filmography

References

External links

*
Dulari
at Upperstall {{authority control 1928 births 2013 deaths Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema 20th-century Indian actresses Deaths from dementia in India Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in India