Kamini Kaushal

Infobox actor
name = Kamini Kaushal


imagesize =
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birthname = Uma Kashyap
birthdate = birth date and age|1927|1|16
location = Lahore, British India
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = actor , producer
yearsactive = 1947- present
spouse =
othername =
filmfareawards=1956:Best Actress: "Biraj Bahu" (1955)

Kamini Kaushal (born 1927) is an Hindi film and television actress, most noted for her roles in films like, Neecha Nagar (1946) which won the 1946 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at Cannes Film Festival, and "Biraj Bahu" (1955), which won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award in 1955 [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046780/awards Biraj Bahu awards] "Internet Movie Database" ] .

Biography

Born Uma Kashyap on January 16, 1927 at Lahore. Her father was a Botanist and Professor at Lahore University . She did her B.A. (honours) in English literature from Kinnaird College in Lahore, British India. Her sister died leaving behind very young children and Uma married (or was made to marry) her sister’s husband. Her husband, Mr. Sood was an officer in the Bombay Port Trust.

There is also a mention of her having been a stage actress in Delhi. She worked as a radio artist before she was discovered by Chetan Anand as the lead for his film "Neecha Nagar". This movie was done before her marriage and released in 1946.

After Neecha Nagar she returned to Lahore, and after marriage settled in Bombay, soon offers started coming in, and in the coming decades Kamini Kaushal worked with all the top leading men of her time such as Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar ('Shaheed (1948 film)
Shaheed' (1948), 'Nadiya Ke Paar' (1949), 'Shabnam' (1949) and 'Arzoo' (1950).) [http://www.rediff.com/entertai/apr/04kam.htm "Hindi cinema still has a place for the Bimal Roy kind of films"] "Rediff.com"] .

In 1965 she moved to playing character roles with a film called " Shaheed" . As a character artist she was a fixture in seven Manoj Kumar films right up to "Dus Numbari" in 1976. She has had a long stint in films with releases right up to 2003. She made the transition to character roles very easily and has excelled in them ever since.

Dilip Kumar in his biography has admitted his attraction to her [ [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031221/spectrum/book5.htm Excerpts from Dilip Kumar’s Biography- Dilip Kumar: The Star Legend of Indian Cinema by Bunny Reuben] "The Tribune", December 21, 2003.] . He said that she was his first love. There were rumors of an affair between the two. But there is no source giving her side of the story or of her acknowledgement of the same.

She also stepped into writing children’s stories. Her stories used to be published in the children's magazine "Paraag" and she dabbled in television doing serials like "Chand Sitare" on Doordarshan, and in 1986, she made an animation film. "Meri Pari,".

At present she works in the highly popular serial, "Shanno Ki Shaadi" on STAR Plus [ [http://www.nowrunning.com/news/news.aspx?it=14760 Kamini Kaushal 2008 Interview] "nowrunning.com."] . She plays the role of Bebe, the grandmother of Shanno, the main protagonist played by Divya Dutta.

Awards

* 1956: Filmfare Best Actress Award: "Biraj Bahu"

References

External links

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* [http://www.movietalkies.com/artists/complete-profie.asp?ArtistId=55265 Kamini Kaushal Profile - Movietalkies]