#GoldenFrames: Jamuna Barua, the original 'Paro' of Indian cinema

Jamuna Barua is the first Paro of the talkies era. She was only fourteen when she got the role in 'Devdas. 'The actress was married to legendary actor-director Prathamesh Barua with whom she had three sons— Deb Kumar, Rajat Kumar and Prasun Kumar. Jamuna Barua received felicitations from the Government of India and the State Government of Assam for being the original Paro of Indian talkies. She was known for her stoic presence, slim figure and long face.

In This Pic : jamuna barua, goldenframes

Born on October 10, 1919, Jamuna Barua, also known as Jumna or Jumuna Devi, was the fourth of the six daughters. She lived with her father, Puran Gupta and her sisters in a village near Agra, India. Jamuna came to Kolkata with her family.

In This Pic : jamuna barua, goldenframes

Pic Courtesy : Wikipedia

She did a small role in Prathamesh Chandra Barua's directorial debut, 'Mohabbat Ki Kasauti’ (1934) in Hindi and Rooplekha (1934) in Bengali.

In This Pic : Prathamesh Barua, jamuna barua, goldenframes

Rumour has it that Prathamesh and Jamuna were already romantically involved when the movie went on the floors. During the first day of the 'Devdas' shoot, when the lead actress Kanan Devi couldn't make it on the set, Jamuna was asked to take her place immediately. Jamuna was only fourteen when she played the role of Paro.

In This Pic : Prathamesh Barua, jamuna barua, goldenframes

She also used to live with P.C. Barua during that time. P.C Barua made ‘Devdas’ thrice—in Bengali, Assamese and Hindi, respectively, in 1935. The movie was based on Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's eponymous novel. The Hindi version made by Barua starred the legendary Kundan Lal Saigal in the lead role. The movie is the oldest version, the first-ever talkie version of 'Devdas' available in India, starring P.C Barua as Devdas, Jamuna Barua as Parvati (Paro) and Chandrabati Devi as Chandramukhi.

(Photo: Still from the movie Devdas)

In This Pic : Kundan Lal Saigal, jamuna barua, goldenframes