Purnima Das Verma (born Meherbhano Mohammad Ali; 2 March, 1934 — 14 August, 2013) was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Hindi-language films. She was the aunt of director

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mahesh Bhatt, a number of accolades, including four Nati ...

and grandmother of actor Emraan Hashmi.

Personal life

Meherbano Mohammad Ali was born on 2 March, 1934. Her elder sister, Shirin, is the mother of directors

and Mukesh Bhatt. Meherbano's first husband was a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

named Syed Shauqat Hashmi, who moved to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

during the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. Her son from this first marriage, Anwar Hashmi (father of Emraan Hashmi), acted in '' Baharon Ke Manzil'' (1968) opposite Farida Jalal. In 1954, she got married for the second time, to filmmaker, Bhagwan Das Varma. Meherbano took the screen name 'Purnima' when she entered the film industry.

Career

Purnima acted in over 80

Bollywood 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 ...

films. She was a popular Hindi film actress from the late '40s to '50s. She appeared in many films including, ''Patanga'' (1949), ''Jogan'' (1950), ''Sagai'' (1951), ''Jaal'' (1952), ''Aurat'' (1953), a role in Ajay Devgan's debut film '' Phool Aur Kaante'', and the role of Sanjay Dutt's on-screen grandmother, in '' Naam'' which was directed by

. She also played the role of

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

's mother, in the film '' Zanjeer''.

Death

Purnima had

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 ...

during the last few years of her life and died on 14 August, 2013.

later revealed on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, "My aunt Purnima, the first star of our family and who happens to be Emraan Hashmi's grandmother has entered the sunset moments of her life."

Selected filmography

*'' Patanga'' (1949) *'' Jogan'' (1950) *'' Sagai'' (1951) *'' Badal'' (1951) *'' Jaal'' (1952) *'' Aurat'' (1953) * Baghi Sipahi (1958) *'' Humjoli'' (1970) *'' Banphool'' (1971) *'' Zanjeer'' (1973) *'' Ganga Ki Saugandh'' (1978) * '' Khara Khota'' (1981) *'' Poonam'' (1981) *'' Hum Se Badkar Kaun''(1981) *''

Kaalia ''Kaalia'' is a 1981 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film, written and directed by Tinnu Anand, and produced by Iqbal Singh. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan (in the title role), Parveen Babi, Asha Parekh, Kader Khan, Pran, Amjad Khan, ...

'' (1981) *'' Dharam Kanta'' (1982) *'' ''Inquilaab'' (1984 film)'' Amarnath Aunt * '' Yaadgar'' (1984) *'' Sadaa Suhagan'' (1986)

References

{{Portal bar, India, Biography, Bollywood, Hinduism Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian former Muslims 2013 deaths 1934 births Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in India Indian Hindus Converts to Hinduism from Islam