Yesteryear star Kamini Kaushal dies at 98

MUMBAI: Actor Kamini Kaushal, one of Hindi cinema’s earliest female stars who began her career with the classic “Neecha Nagar” in 1946 and went on to act in a host of films right till 2022, has died in her Mumbai home, a close family friend said. She was 98.Amongst the industry’s highest paid actresses in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Kaushal starred opposite the triumvirate of Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor before moving on to character roles in the 1960s.Her last screen appearance was in Aamir Khan’s 2022 film “Laal Singh Chaddha” at the age of 95, making for a remarkable 76 year in the movies.”She died at her Mumbai home late on Thursday night. She would have turned 99 in February,” Sajan Narain, a close friend of the family, said.Kaushal was born Uma Kashyap on February 24, 1927 in Lahore.Her father, Shiv Ram Kashyap, was widely regarded as the father of Indian botany and taught as a professor at the University of Punjab in pre-partition Lahore.The youngest of two brothers and three sisters, Kaushal graduated with a degree in English literature from Government College in Lahore.The movie career happened when family friend and filmmaker Chetan Anand approached her for his 1946 film “Neecha Nagar”.The movie, where she acted opposite actor Rafiq Anwar and Anand’s wife Uma, won the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film at the inaugural Cannes Film Festival in 1946.The movie is considered a classic for its portrayal of the gulf between rich and poor.It also marked the debut of the late star Zohra Sehgal and music by renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar.It was Chetan Anand who rechristened her Kamini Kaushal to avoid confusion between two Umas.After the success of “Neecha Nagar”, Kaushal worked extensively with the triumvirate of Hindi cinema — Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor — in films such as “Jail Yatra”, “Do Bhai”, “Aag”, “Shaheed”, “Nadiya Ke Par”, “Ziddi”, “Shabnam” and “Arzoo”.



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