#GoldenFrames: Shashikala, Life in pictures...

Shashikala was born on August 4, 1932, to a Hindu Bhavsar Shimpi caste Marathi speaking family in Solapur, Maharashtra, India. The actress, who never had a proper education, started her career at the age of thirteen and continued to work in front of the camera for over six decades. She was good at learning new languages. Shashikala has worked in several regional movies and used to speak Marathi, Urdu, Tamil, Gujarati, English and Bengali fluently. Unlike other renowned actors, she wasn't reluctant to experiment with different roles, she used to become the character once the makeup touched her face. Parents used her name to discipline children as the actress was known for negative roles. Shashikala was a household name. In fact, there was an idiom on her, "Kya Shashikala ki tarah ladti hai? (Why do you fight like Shashikala?)".

In This Pic : Shashikala, golden frames

Pic Courtesy : FILMFARE.COM

As Shashikala was the most good looking and talented kid from the other five children in the family, her father took her from studio to studio in search of a role. In her pre-teens, Shashikala started her career with small roles in ‘Karodpati’ (1936) and ‘Chand’ (1944) until she got noticed as a qawwali dancer in ‘Zeenat’ (1945).

In This Pic : Shashikala, golden frames

Pic Courtesy : FILMFARE.COM

Shashikala was forever grateful to Noor Jehan, who gave her a break in the movie. The actress had met Noor in Central Studios in search of roles. Later, in distress, Noor searched for a replacement and recalled Shashikala meeting her for a role. At that point, Shashikala was not fluent in Urdu, but her talent conquered the language barrier. She was included in a qawwali scene with others like Shyama and Shalini. She was paid ₹ 25 for the role. With that money, Shashikala celebrated her first Diwali with her family. She vividly remembers, her father bought her fancy Nagpuri patelea sarees in two colours—blue and pink.

In This Pic : Shashikala, golden frames

The actress also received a medal for her role in ‘Zeenat’ (1945). Meanwhile, Noor Jehan's husband, Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, a film director, suggested Shashikala's father to rename Shashikala as Baby Noor Jehan and teach her Urdu. But her father decided to name her Baby Shashikala instead.

In This Pic : Shashikala, golden frames

Coming from a Maharashtrian family, she was fluent in Marathi as it was her mother tongue, but it came in the way in her acting career. After losing a second lead heroine role, she decided to learn Urdu and speak only in Urdu.

(Photo: National Film Archive of India)

In This Pic : Shashikala, golden frames