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Indurani | |
|---|---|
 Indurani in Meri Bhool (1937) | |
| Born | Ishrat Jehan Imamuddin 21 June 1922 Delhi, India |
| Died | 18 February 2012 (aged 89) United States |
| Other name | Ishrat Shah |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1934–1942 |
| Spouse | Ramniklal Shah |
Ishrat Shah[1] (born Ishrat Jehan Imamuddin; 21 June 1922 – 18 February 2012), better known by the screen name Indurani, was an Indian actress who was a prominent female action star of 1930s Bombay cinema.[2] She was particularly associated with stunt films and was known for performing her own stunts.[3] According to The Milwaukee Journal, she had appeared as a leading lady in 25 films before the age of 18.[1]
Early life and career
[edit]Indurani was born Ishrat Jehan Imamuddin on 21 June 1922.[2] According to her account, she joined the Hindi film industry at the age of 12. In a later interview with The Milwaukee Journal, she recalled that she began working due to her father's financial difficulties:
"When we were young, my father lost money. He had nothing to raise his family. My father was a friend of the manager of a big film company. He took me and my older sister to act in films. It was to earn money that we worked."[1]
Indurani also recalled that her father's family disapproved of her entering films because, in her words, "it was not allowed that a Moslem girl should work in films." However, she defended herself and her sister, stating, "there was nothing wrong with the lives we led ... We never did anything shameful."[1]
Early in her career, Ishrat was given the screen name Indurani, while her elder sister, Roshan Jehan, also became a leading lady under the screen name Sarojini.[4] According to scholar Debashree Mukherjee, Indurani was cast more for her looks than for her stunt potential, despite performing her own falls, fights, and chase sequences in an era when professional stunt doubles were not yet established.[3]
Among her notable films was Meri Bhool (1937)—also released as Repentance or Unmarried Wife—in which co-starred with Navin Yagnik as an unmarried pregnant teenager.[5][6] She also appeared in Veer Bala (1938) as Sobha, a village girl pursued by a rogue prince,[7][8] and in Mr. X (1938), in which she played the antagonist's sister.[9] Indurani later appeared as a leading lady in K. Amarnath's fantasy drama Bulbule Baghdad (1940) and Nanubhai Vakil's historical romance Taj Mahal (1941).[10][11]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]In her private life, Indurani married producer-director Ramniklal Shah at a young age.[2] Their eldest son was born while she was still in her early teens. The couple had five more children.[1] Indurani's film career ended in 1942, when she became ill and retired from films; she later shifted to United States with her family.[1] She died on 18 February 2012.[2]
In June 2017, online archivist Surjit Singh published a biography of Indurani, titled Indurani: An Unsung But Unforgettable Heroine Of The Early Talkies.[12][13]
Selected filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Insaaf | [14] | |
| 1937 | Meri Bhool | [15] | |
| 1938 | Mr. X | [15] | |
| 1938 | Veer Bala | [16] | |
| 1939 | Swastik | [17] | |
| 1939 | Midnight Mail | [18] | |
| 1939 | Bhedi Kumar | [19] | |
| 1940 | Hatimtai Ki Beti | [20] | |
| 1940 | Tatar Ka Chor | ||
| 1940 | Usha Haran | ||
| 1941 | Taj Mahal | ||
| 1941 | Bulbule Baghdad | ||
| 1942 | Zevar |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sanden, Jo (2 November 1965). "Former Indian Film Star Gets Domestic Role". The Milwaukee Journal. 83 (247): Part 2.
- 1 2 3 4 "Indurani". Cinemaazi. Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - 1 2 Mukherjee 2020, pp. 291–292.
- ↑ Mukherjee 2020, pp. 279–280, 373.
- ↑ "Tara Films' "Repentance"". The Times of India. 12 November 1937. p. 14 – via ProQuest.
- ↑ "Tara Films News". The Bombay Chronicle. 18 July 1937. p. 21.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Mukherjee 2020, p. 303.
- ↑ "Mohan Pictures' Veer Bala To Be Shown During Divali Holidays". The Bombay Chronicle. 16 October 1938. p. 29.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Patel, Baburao (February 1939). "Mr. X". Filmindia: 43–44 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ "BULBULE BAGHDAD". The Hindustan Times. 19 October 1941. p. 7.
- ↑ ""Taj Mahal" Popular At Minerva". The Times of India. 3 April 1942. p. 10.
- ↑ Singh, Surjit (19 June 2017). Indurani: An Unsung But Unforgettable Heroine Of The Early Talkies. ISBN 978-1544246598.
- ↑ Mukherjee 2020, pp. 279.
- ↑ Rangoonwalla & Das 1970, p. 131.
- 1 2 Rangoonwalla & Das 1970, p. 133.
- ↑ Rangoonwalla & Das 1970, p. 145.
- ↑ Rangoonwalla & Das 1970, p. 152.
- ↑ Rangoonwalla & Das 1970, p. 149.
- ↑ Rangoonwalla & Das 1970, p. 146.
- ↑ Rangoonwalla & Das 1970, p. 215.
Sources
[edit]- Mukherjee, Debashree (2020). Bombay Hustle: Making Movies in a Colonial City. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231551670.
- Rangoonwalla, Firoze; Das, Vishwanath (1970). Indian Filmography: Silent & Hindi Films, 1897-1969. J. Udeshi.