Lata Mangeshkar, Dharmendra & other Bollywood celebs mourn veteran actress Shashikala's demise
Veteran Bollywood actress Shashikala is no more. She was 88. The actress passed away in her Mumbai residence on Sunday, although official confirmation from her family is awaited. Mourning the death of the actress, many Bollywood celebrities including Lata Mangeshkar, Farhan Akhtar, Rohit Roy, Adnan Sami and Naved Jafri took to their social media accounts and paid their tribute.
Lata Mangeshkar called Shashikala a gifted artiste who did full justice to every character she played. "I am saddened after learning about the demise of the talented actor Shashikala. She played every kind of role with equal elan. May she rest in peace. My condolences to her family," she said.
Veteran actor Dharmendra tweeted, "Gumnaami ki kokh se paida hoti hai ... Shoharat... ye...Gumnaami ki god mein so jaati hai ...I am extremely sad to know that our Shashikala is no more.... A versatile artist, most loving person. May God bless her soul be in peace."
"RIP Shashikala-ji. Condolences to the family," actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar wrote on Twitter.
Naved Jafri took to his Instagram and shared a picture of the late actress. He captioned the picture, “Our dear Shashikala Ji is no more. She was a great artist. May the almighty give the family strength and patience to bear this irreplaceable loss. Deepest condolences. #ShashiKala #RIPShashikala."
Television actor Rohit Bose Roy also took to Twitter to pay his condolence. He wrote, "Shashikala ji... RIP."
Singer Adnan Sani tweeted, "Saddened to learn that legendary actress Shashikala ji has passed away... She was a brilliant & versatile actress. May she rest in peace...Folded hands."
Union minister Jitendra Singh and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar also paid rich tributes to the late star.
Singh shared a line from the song "Kyun Mujhe Itni Khushi", which featured Shashikala and Deven Verma, from the 1966 film "Anupama".
"#Shashikala no more. She was among the last from that Golden Age genre of Bollywood. RIP," the minister said.
Pawar said he was "saddened" to hear about the demise of the veteran actor.
"She made a significant mark on the Indian film industry with her hard-earned and well-deserved career. Condolences to her family and friends. RIP," the NCP chief said in a tweet.
Born in Solapur, Maharashtra, Shashikala Jawalkar started acting on stage at the age of five in her hometown. After her father went bankrupt, she moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) with her family and started to look for work in movies.
Also read: Veteran actress Shashikala passes away at the age of 88
She made her first big-screen appearance in the 1945 movie "Zeenat", directed by legendary actor Noor Jehan's husband Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. Better known by her first name, Shashikala starred in over a hundred films in her career spanning around six decades. She went on to play small parts in various films for almost a decade and then got an opportunity to feature in V Shantaram's "Teen Batti Char Raasta" (1953) and "Daku", the 1955 film starring Shammi Kapoor.
Her career breakthrough came in 1959 when she appeared in Bimal Roy's "Sujata", one of the early movies in Hindi cinema to explore the issue of casteism.
Based on a Bengali short story of the same name by Subodh Ghosh, "Sujata" saw Shashikala play the real daughter of the Brahmin family that adopts Nutan's protagonist, an orphan from a low caste.
Shashikala then appeared in Tarachand Barjatya's "Aarti" (1962), starring Meena Kumari, Ashok Kumar, and Pradeep Kumar in the lead.
The film proved to be a stepping stone for Shashikala as she went on to become one of the go-to actors for filmmakers to portray negative parts.
She then appeared in supporting roles in classics like "Gumrah" (1963), "Waqt" (1965), "Anupama" (1966) and "Phool Aur Patthar" (1966) and returned to playing a vamp in the Shammi Kapoor-Sadhana-starrer "Chhote Sarkar" (1974).
Later in her career, she switched to character roles appearing in 1980's "Khubsoorat", fronted by Rekha, Sunny Deol-led "Arjun" (1985), "Khamosh Nigahen" (1986), "Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani" (1988), "Sach" (1989), Govinda's "Pardesi Babu" (1998), Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Baadshah" (1999), Karan Johar's directorial "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", musical hit "Jhankaar Beats" (2003) and "Mujhse Shaadi Karogi" (2004) and "Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav" in 2005.
Shashikala switched to television in the 2000s and went on to play pivotal parts in serials "Apnaapan", "Dil Deke Dekho" and "Son Pari". She received Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2007 for her contribution to the Indian cinema.
In her early 20s, she married Om Prakash Saigal, who belonged to the KL Saigal family, and had two daughters, one of whom later passed away due to cancer.
-with PTI inputs
