Kuldip Kaur
Kuldip Kaur in Baiju Bawra (1952)
Born1927 (1927)
Lahore, Punjab, British India
Died3 February 1960(1960-02-03) (aged 32–33)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
OccupationActor
Years active1948–1960
SpouseMohinder Singh Siddhu

Kuldip Kaur, (1927–3 February 1960), was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Punjabi films.[1][2] Known for her roles as negative characters, she was cited as one of Indian cinema's "most polished vamps" and actor Pran's "opposite number".[3] She started her acting career with the first Punjabi film produced in India following Partition; Chaman, also called The Garden in 1948.[4]

Acclaimed as a "vamp" of "exceptional talent" and the "first female villain" in Indian cinema, she has been compared to artists like Shashikala and Bindu.[5] Active from 1948 to 1960, she acted in over 100 films, most of them in Hindi and some in Punjabi. She died in 1960 from tetanus.[1]

Personal life

Kuldip Kaur was born into a Guron Jat family in 1927 in Lahore, Punjab, British India. Her family were Ladhran royal family in Attari, Amritsar District, in Punjab.[3] She was married to Attariwala royal member Mohinder Singh Sidhu, a grandson of the military Commander of Ranjit Singh's army, General Sham Singh Attariwala.[6] Married at the age of fourteen, she became a mother at the age of sixteen.[3]

Kaur defied convention to join films while still in Lahore. She left Lahore in 1947 while communal violence was raging. She was described as a brave lady by Saadat Hasan Manto in his chapter on Kuldip Kaur, titled "Kuldip Kaur: The Punjabi firecracker" in his book Stars from Another Sky: The Bombay Film World of the 1940s. Kaur returned to Lahore in spite of the violence, to pick up Pran's car. His car had been left behind when Pran and she left for Bombay to escape the communal rioting in Lahore following partition of India. She drove the car back alone from Lahore to Bombay, via Delhi.[7]

Career

The German cinematographer, Josef Wirsching of Bombay Talkies, took her screen test at the request of Savak Vacha, one of Bombay Talkies' then-proprietors, along with Ashok Kumar and S. Mukherji. On his recommendation she was cast in supporting roles.[1]

One of Kuldip Kaur's first films was the Punjabi language Chaman in 1948, which turned out to be a big success at the box office, co-starring Karan Dewan with Meena Shorey.[4] Kuldip Kaur also acted in two Hindi films that year; Ziddi directed by Shaheed Latif and starring Dev Anand, Kamini Kaushal and Pran, and Grahasti both of which were "box office hits". In Grahasti she performed the role of a "modern, sophisticated woman intolerant of her husband".[3]

In 1949, Kuldip Kaur acted a musical success, Ek Thi Ladki, with music by Vinod. Her next film was Kaneez, in 1949, an average film commercially. In 1950, she was in two successful Hindi films; Samadhi and Aadhi Raat and two Punjabi films; Madari and Chhai. In Samadhi, the popular song "Gore Gore Banke Chhore" was picturised on her and Nalini Jaywant.[1] In 1951, she acted in several films such as Rajput, Nai Zindagi, Ek Nazar, Afsana and Mukhda, where she played the lead role. Afsana was directed by B. R. Chopra and starred Ashok Kumar and Veena. Kaur was stated to have played her role of a vamp "to perfection".

She also then appeared in films such as Baiju Bawra (1952) in which her acting was critically acclaimed as the dacoit queen, Roopmati. Some of the other films she acted in 1952 to 54 were Anjaam (1952), Baaz (1953), Anarkali (1953) where her acting was praised, Aabshar (1953), Gul Bahar and Dak Babu in (1954). 1955 was a busy year for her, acting in films such as Teer Andaz (1955) and Miss Coca Cola (1955). With few releases in 1956, she returned with Ek Saal (1957), acting opposite Madhubala and Ashok Kumar. In 1958, Kuldip Kaur had roles in two films; Sahara and Panchayat. In 1959, she worked in three films Pyaar Ka Rishta, Mohar and Jagir. Mohar had music composed by Madan Mohan and became another musical success for her.[8] Maa Baap, Bade Ghar Ki Bahu, Sunheri Raatein and the Punjabi film Yamla Jatt in 1960 were the last films she acted in. Her last film was Honeymoon (1960), also one in which she played the vamp.[9]

Some of the important films Kuldip Kaur acted in were Ek Thi Ladki, Samadhi (1950), Aadhi Raat (1950), Chhoti Bhabhi (1950), Anarkali (1953), Afsana (1951) and Baiju Bawra.

Death

Kaur died on 3 February 1960, in Bombay, Maharashtra, of tetanus, following thorn pricks from a Ber tree (jujube) on a visit to Shirdi, Ahmednagar District, which she did not consider serious enough to require treatment.[1]

Filmography

Kuldip Kaur was active between 1948-1960.[10]

YearFilmDirector
1948Chaman,Punjabi MovieRoop K. Shorey
1948ZiddiShaheed Latif
1949KaneezKrishna Kumar
1949Ek Thi LadkiRoop K. Shorey
1949TaraR. D. Pareenja
1950Aadhi RaatS. K. Ojha
1950LajawabJagatrai Pesumal Advani
1950Meena BazaarRavindra Dave
1950SamadhiRamesh Saigal
1950Madaari,Punjabi Movie

Rajendra Sharma

1950"Chhai",Punjabi MovieShankar Mehta
1951AfsanaB. R. Chopra
1951Do SitareD. D. Kashyap
1951Ek NazarO. P. Dutta
1951For Ladies OnlyBedi
1951GumastaS. M. Yusuf
1951LachakM. I. Daramsey
1951MukhadaRoop K. Shorey
1951Nai ZindagiMohan Sinha
1951RajputLekhraj Bhakri
1951StageVijay Mhatre
1952AnjaamShanti Kumar
1952Baiju BawraVijay Bhatt
1952GhungruHiren Bose
1952Hamari DuniyaSushil Sahu
1952JagguJagdish Sethi
1952NaubaharAnand Kumar
1952Neelam PariDhirubhai Desai
1952SheeshamKishore Sharma
1953AabsharHasrat Lucknavi
1953AnarkaliNandlal Jaswantlal
1953BaazGuru Dutt
1953GharbaarDinkar Patil
1953FarmaishB. K. Sagar
1953MashuqaShanti Kumar
1954Dak BabuLekhraj Bhakri
1954Gul BaharNanubhai
1954Pilpili SahebH.S. Kavatra
1954HukumatRaja Yagnik
1954LalpariKedar Kapoor
1954MastanaH. S. Rawail
1955DakuAspi
1955DeewarI.S Bali
1955Duniya Gol HaiOm Prakash
1955JashanS. Shamsuddin
1955Mast QalandarKedar Kapoor
1955Miss Coca-ColaKedar Kapoor
1956Indra LeelaRajendra Sharma
1956InquilabKedar Kapoor
1956Sultan-E-AlamMohan Sinha
1957Ek SaalDevendra Goel
1957Jai AmbeShanti Kumar
1957MaharaniA. Karim
1957PaisaPrithviraj Kapoor
1958PanchayatLekhraj Bhakri
1958SaharaLekhraj Bhakri
1958Son Of SindbadNanabhai Bhatt
1959ChandLekhraj Bhakri
1959JagirJag Mohan Mattu
1959MoharP. Jairaj
1959Pyar Ki RahenLekhraj Bhakri
1960Bade Ghar Ki BahuKundan Kumar
1960Bhakta RajVishnu Vyas
1960Maa BaapVishnu Vyas
1960RickshawalaShankar Mehta
1960Sunheri RaateinLekhraj Bhakri

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bali, Karan (20 March 2015). "Kuldip Kaur". upperstall.com. The Rest. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Kuldip Kaur Actress". omnilexica.com. Omnilexica. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Patel, Sushila Rani Baburao (1952). Stars of the Indian Screen. India: Parker and Sons. p. 23.
  4. 1 2 K. Moti Gokulsing; Wimal Dissanayake (17 April 2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-77284-9. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Tilak Rishi (2012). Bless You Bollywood!: A Tribute to Hindi Cinema on Completing 100 Years. Trafford Publishing. pp. 47–. ISBN 978-1-4669-3963-9. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Kuldip Kaur". Young Bites Daily. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Saʻādat Ḥasan Manṭo (1 January 2000). "Kuldip Kaur: the Punjabi firecracker". A Manto Panorama: A Representative Collection of Saadat Hasan Manto's Fiction and Non-fiction. Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 234. ISBN 978-969-35-1089-8. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Augla, Harjap Singh. "Kuldip Kaur". apnaorg.com. APNA. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Kahlon, Sukhpreet. "Too hot to handle: Remembering Kuldip Kaur". cinestaan.com. Cinestaan. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Kuldip Kaur". citwf.com. Adam Goble. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
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