Probashi- Cover Story
Probashi- Cover Story
The Tragedy of the Fallen Stars
Raj Kiran‐ Tum Itna Jo Muskura rahey ho, Kya gam hai jisko chupa rahe ho
suffering from acute depression and mood swings. As a consequencee his brothers and wife disowned him at a time when he acutely needed family support.
Subsequently Raj Kiran took to alcohol and things started to go downhill and he stopped getting film roles. He shifted to United States and took up work as a taxi driver in New York. Later he ended up at a mental asylum in USA, a consequencee of his clinical depression, where he presently is admitted. Raj pays for his medical bills by working within the institution.
Sulakshana Pandit a gifted playback singer and an extremely
Sulakshana Pandit‐ nipped in the bud
beautiful and talented actress played lead role in a number of movies in the seventies and early eighties. Niece of Pandit Jasraj and sister of the music composer duo Jatin‐Lalit, Sulochana enjoyed a bright career in Hindi films. Sulakshana dearly loved the actor Sanjeev Kumar whom she wanted to marry, however Sanjeev Kumar then in love with Hema Malini rebuffed Sulakshana’ s offer for marriage. Sulakshana unable to take the heartbreak withdrew completely from movies and lived in a flat in Mumbai with her mother as a recluse shunning all contact with the outside world. With no work her financial status started to dwindle and she lived a hand to mouth existence.
When her mother died, Sulakshana lost the last emotional support and her health started to deteriorate. Presently Sulakshana stays with her sister Vijeyta, the erstwhile film actress and wife of music composer Adesh Srivastava.
Life was not kind to Rajkumari Dubey( 1924‐2000) the star of the silent films and the first female playback singer in Indian film industry. Much sought after in 1940s, Rajkumari lost out to newer talent especially the Mangeshkar sisters and was soon out of work. Music composer Naushad who admired
Rajkumari’ s style of singing was taken aback when he found her amongst the chorus singers during recording of the songs for the film Pakeezah in 1972. Shocked and embarrassed, Naushad composed the song Najariya ki Mari entirely for Rajkumari to sing. It ' s said that she died in absolute poverty and neighbours paid for her funeral expenses.
Rajkumari, India’ s first femalee playback singer died a pauper
There have been many others who had seen a meteoric rise and then a sudden fall in fortunes. Take the case of Bhagwan( 1913‐2002) starting as an extra in stunt films; he rose to become a film actor, producer and owner of Jagriti Studio in Chembur, Mumbai. His hit film Albela( 1951) changed his fortunes and he owned seven cars( a car for each day of the week) and a sea facing bungalow. Soon his movies began to flop and his financial ruin started, made
Mandakini became an overnight star with Raj Kapoor’ s Ram Teri Ganga Maili( 1985
). However her luck deserted her and she could not repeat her success and quit films in 1996. She was linked with the Mumbai underworld. Presently she stays in Andheri with her husband Dr. Kagyur T. Rinpoche Thakur, a former Tibetian monk and runs a Tibetian medicine centre.