Kanan Devi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kanan Devi in the 1930s | |
| Born | (1916-04-22)22 April 1916 |
| Died | 17 July 1992(1992-07-17) (aged 76) |
| Occupation | Actress |
Kanan Devi (22 April 1916 – 17 July 1992) was an Indian actress and singer.[1] She was among the early singing stars ofIndian cinema, and is credited popularly as the first star ofBengali cinema. Her singing style, usually in rapid tempo, was used instrumentally in some of the biggest hits ofNew Theatres,Kolkata.[1]
Kanan Bala was born on 22 April 1916 inHowrah,West Bengal in aMahishya family to Ratan Chandra Das and Rajobala Devi.[2] Although, her father was financially affluent, having not only a well paid job but also a jewellery shop, but lost all his earnings in vices such asgambling anddrinking.[2] After the death of her father, Ratan Chandra Das, young Kanan and Rajobala were simply left to fend for themselves. Her life story is a true tale of rags to riches. Some say she did her schooling (not completed) fromHowrah's St. Agnes' Convent School.
A well wisher, Tulsi Banerji, whom she called Kaka babu, introduced Kanan when she was only ten to Madan Theatres/Jyoti Studios, where she was cast in a small role inJaidev (1926), followed by Shankaracharya in 1927. She was known as Kanan Bala.[1]
Kanan did at least five films withMadan Theatres productions, (1926–1932)Rishir Prem (1931),Jorebarat (1931),Vishnu Maya (1932) andPrahlad, playing even male leads in the last two.
She then worked with Radha Films from 1933 to 1936, then with New Theatres from 1937 to 1941, with MP Productions 1942 to 1948 and finally set up her own label Shrimati Pictures, 1949 to 1965.She starred in the 1932 filmChar Darvesh which was also the debut film forTrilok Kapoor, younger brother ofPrithviraj Kapoor
From silent film roles as a child artist, Kanan made the successful transition into talkie films and was noticed withJorebarat (1931),Manomoyee Girls School,Khooni Kaun andMaa (1934).
Her films with Jyotish Bannerjee includedJoydev (1926),Rishir Prem (1931),Jorebarat (1931),Vishnumaya (1932),Kantahaar (1935) andManomoyee Girls School (1935). Her films with Prafulla Ghosh wereSree Gouranga (1933),Char Darvesh (1933),Maa (1934) andHari Bhakti. Others with Radha Film Company wereKanthahar (1935),Krishna Sudama (1936),Bishabriksha (1936) andChar Darvesh (1933).
New Theatres'sP.C. Barua wanted her to play the lead in hisDevdas (1935),[1] but, due to contractual reasons with Radha, she could not act in the film, a factor she regretted all her life.
The films of New Theatres, owned by Biren Sircar, established her as a superhit singer and her films ran to packed audiences.[3] She had to travel under constant protection, given her huge fan following. During her years withNew Theatres,Calcutta from 1937, she played the lead in Barua'sMukti (1937), which was perhaps her finest performance, making her the studio's top star. Apart from Mukti, she didVidyapati,Saathi (1938),Street Singer (1938),Sapera (1939),Jawani Ki Reet (1939),Parajay (1939),Abhinetri (1940),Lagan (1941),Parichay (1941) andJawab (1942). She became known as Kanan Devi from this point.[2]
She came in contact with the music maestroRai Chand Boral, who not only coached and familiarized her in theHindi accent, but experimented with many classical Western and Indian forms in his music. She received her initial musical training underAlla Rakha. She was employed as a singer at the Megaphone Gramaphone Company, receiving further training under Bhishmadev Chatterjee. She later learntRabindra Sangeet under Anadi Dastidar. Kanan remained the top star of New Theatres until she resigned her contract in 1941 and began to freelance inBengali andHindi films.
She worked with the biggest names in Indian cinema withK. L. Saigal,Pankaj Mullick, Pramathesh Ch Barua (P.C. Barua, maker of film Devdas),Pahari Sanyal, Chabi Biswas,Trilok Kapoor andAshok Kumar.
M.P. Productions'sJawaab was perhaps her biggest hit. Her songDuniya Yeh Duniya, Hai Toofan Mail was well received. She repeated the same feat inHospital (1943),Banphool (1945) andRajlakshmi (1946). Kanan Devi's last Hindi film wasChandrashekhar (1948), withAshok Kumar.
Kanan turned producer with Shrimati Pictures in 1949 and later launched the Sabyasachi Collective with the filmAnanya (1949). Her own productions were mainly based on the stories ofSharat Chandra Chattopadhyay.[2]
Kanan married Ashok Maitra in December, 1940. He was the son of the staunchBrahmo Samaj educationist Heramba Chandra Maitra. Despite their best intentions, the marriage could not withstand the severe condemnation by the then conservative society. Even the poetRabindranath Tagore, who sent a token gift to the married couple received scathing criticism for blessing the couple. The main issue was that Kanan was not expected to be working in films after her marriage. She filed for divorce in 1945. Despite the pain of the divorce, Kanan expressed her immense gratitude towards her first husband for giving her social recognition through marriage for the first time in her life. To Kanan's credit, she maintained excellent relations with Rani Mahanalobis, sister to Ashok Maitra and her husband, the famous social scientistP C Mahalanobis and with Kusumkumari Devi, Ashok Maitra's mother, even after the marriage was severed.[4]
Kanan married Haridas Bhattacharjee around 1949. Haridas Bhattacharjee was then ADC to theGovernor of Bengal. He eventually left the naval service to join Kanan in her filmmaking venture and became a competent director. While raising their son Siddharth in Calcutta, she also formed and worked as the president of Mahila Shilpi Mahal, an organization to help senior female artists and other charitable and community causes, including those for the betterment ofBengali cinema.
Kanan Devi, as the first lady of the Bengali screen, received many honours for her contribution to Indian cinema. An honorary degree, aD. Litt, was awarded to her fromVishwabharati, thePadma Shree in 1968 and theDadasaheb Phalke Award in 1976.[5]
She died on 17 July 1992 in Bellevue Clinic,Calcutta when she was around seventy-six years of age.
A postage stamp, bearing Kanan's likeness, was released to honour her by India'sMinistry of State for Communication and Information Technology in February 2011.
| Year | Film Name | Director | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Joydev | Jyotish Bannerji | |
| 1927 | Shankaracharya | D.G. Kali Prasad | |
| 1931 | Rishir Prem | Jyotish Bannerji | |
| 1931 | Jore Barat | Short | |
| 1932 | Bishnumaya | ||
| 1932 | Prahlad | Priyanath Ganguly | |
| 1932 | Vishnu Maya | Jyotish Bannerji | |
| 1933 | Sree Gouranga | Prafulla Ghosh | |
| 1933 | Char Darvesh | ||
| 1934 | Maa | ||
| 1934 | Hari Bhakti | ||
| 1935 | Kanthahaar | Jyotish Bannerji | |
| 1935 | Manmoyee Girls School | ||
| 1935 | Basabdatta | Satish Dasgupta | |
| 1936 | Bishabriksha | Phani Burma | |
| 1936 | Krishna Sudama | ||
| 1936 | Khooni Kaun | G. R. Sethi | |
| 1936 | Maa | Prafulla Ghosh | |
| 1937 | Vidyapati | Debaki Bose | |
| Mukti | Pramathesh Chandra Barua | ||
| Vidyapati | Debaki Bose | Filmed simultaneously in Hindi and Bengali. the latter version titledBidyapati | |
| 1938 | Sathi | Phani Majumdar | |
| Street Singer | |||
| 1939 | Sapera | Debaki Bose | |
| 1939 | Sapurey | ||
| 1940 | Jawani-Ki-Reet | Hemchandra Chunder | |
| 1940 | Parajay | ||
| 1940 | Haar Jeet | Amar Mullick | |
| 1940 | Abhinetri | ||
| 1941 | Parichay | Nitin Bose | |
| 1941 | Lagan | ||
| 1942 | Shesh Uttar | Pramathesh Chandra Barua | |
| 1942 | Jawab | ||
| 1943 | Jogajog | Sushil Majumdar | |
| 1943 | Jogajog | ||
| 1944 | Bideshini | Premendra Mitra | |
| 1945 | Path Bendhe Dilo | ||
| 1945 | Banphool | Niren Lahiri | |
| 1945 | Raj Lakshmi | Premendra Mitra | |
| 1946 | Tumi Aar Aami | Apurba Kumar Mitra | |
| 1946 | Krishna Leela | Debaki Bose | |
| 1946 | Arabian Nights | Niren Lahiri | |
| 1947 | Chandrasekhar | Debaki Bose | |
| 1947 | Faisla | Apurba Kumar Mitra | |
| 1948 | Bankalekha | Chitta Bose | |
| 1948 | Anirban | Soumyen Mukherjee | |
| 1949 | Ananya | Sabyasachi | |
| 1949 | Anuradha | Pranab Roy | |
| 1950 | Mej Didi | Ajay Kar | |
| 1952 | Darpachurna | ||
| 1954 | Nababidhan | Haridas Bhattacharya | |
| 1955 | Debatra | ||
| 1956 | Asha | ||
| 1957 | Andhare Alo | ||
| 1958 | Rajlakshmi O Srikanta | ||
| 1959 | Indranath Srikanta O Annadadid | ||
| 1965 | Abhay O Srikantai |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
