#GoldenFrames: Bina Rai

Bina Rai was a leading actress in Hindi cinema—reigning in the 1950s and 1960s. The actress worked in roughly thirty movies in her lifetime, and all of them were critically acclaimed and commercially successful. 'Anarkali' (1953), 'Ghunghat' (1960), and 'Taj Mahal' (1963) are considered classics in Bollywood. The actress has worked with many leading actors like Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Bharat Bhushan, and Shammi Kapoor.

In This Pic : goldenframes, Bina Rai

Bina Rai was born as Krishna Sarin on June 4, 1936, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The actress completed her education in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Bina's father was an officer in Western Railways. He encouraged her to pursue fine arts, where she learned music and dance.

In This Pic : goldenframes, Bina Rai

Khursheed Bano was Bina's idol. It wasn't easy for a girl to join the film industry, but Rai convinced her parents to let her act in movies—she went on a hunger strike. Rai saw an advertisement for a contest for talented actors when she was a first-year arts student at Isabella Theodore College in Lucknow in 1950. Bina not only applied but also received a call from the sponsors. She was active in college dramatics. The actress went to Mumbai to participate in the contest. She won, along with the 25,000 rupees in prize money, a leading role in Kishore Sahu's 'Kali Ghata' (1951), which became her film debut and featured Kishore Sahu in the lead role.

In This Pic : goldenframes, Bina Rai

Pic Courtesy : BCCL

Rai acted opposite Pradeep Kumar in three blockbusters and a couple of other movies—they were one of the most popular pairings in the history of Hindi cinema. However, the actress did not have such good chemistry with the brother-in-law of the actor-director Raj Kapoor, her husband Prem Nath, with whom she worked in a few movies, notably 'Anarkali' and 'Aurat'.

(Photo: Still from the movie 'Anarkali')

In This Pic : Pradeep Kumar, goldenframes, Bina Rai

Yesteryear actress Asha Parekh remarked about Bina Rai, "A woman of rare elegance, she was like a queen on and off the screen. She wasn't quite like the average film person. She always appeared to be different and detached. But what an actress!" Asha Parekh worked with Bina Rai in 'Ghunghat' (1960).

(Photo: Still from the movie 'Ghunghat')

In This Pic : goldenframes, Bina Rai, Asha Parekh