Cinema's Mohnia and Mumbai's Sheriff

Staying true to her name, Usha Kiran was a ray of cinematic brilliance who illuminated all her movies with her exceptional acting skills. Her birth anniversary turned out to be a big day for Bollywood

Usha Kiran in a still from her films; Source: Cinestaan

With eyes that speak a thousand words, a gentle smile that exudes grace and charm, and a slight swaying of the head, she walks down the stairs to meet her beloved and also, straight into the audience’s hearts. Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar’s lyrical song “Yaad Kiya Dil Ne Kaha Ho Tum” has Usha Kiran walking down a few steps to meet Dev Anand, the sheer grace of her presence and performance turning her into one of the most expressive and charming personas on the silver screen.

Today’s moviegoers are hardly acquainted with the name Usha Kiran, whose elegant and expressive eyes could have launched the 20th century Trojan war. Cinema lovers of the 50s and 60s would remember her for her effortless and polished acting, given her experience in the field of theatre. If the thespian actress was born today, her subtle and nuanced performance would have been nothing but sheer joy to watch.

Born today as Usha Marathe, in British Hyderabad in 1929, she started her career with theatre. Reluctant to act, she wanted to marry and settle down but destiny had grandiose plans for her, as she soon found her footing in the Marathi and Bollywood Film Industry. With plays like Rangnekar’s Ashirwad and Uday Shankar’s dance drama Kalpana, Kiran soon began to mesmerize audiences and gained the limelight. However, it was director Amiya Chakrabarty who persisted with her and made her the leading heroine of his films, which grabbed and intrigued the audience’s attention.

Films like Daag(1952), Patita(1953), Baadbaan(1954) proved her dedication to acting where she starred opposite the leading heroes of the time, be it Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, or Raj Kapoor.

Her personal life remained obscure, thanks to the absence of today’s crazy paparazzi culture. Once rumours ran amok that she fell in love with Amiya Chakrabarty, who was a married man. She got married to Dr Manohar Kher and had one daughter, Tanvi Azmi, and one son, Adwait Kher. She was also a part of many Hrishikesh Mukherjee directed films, who offered her roles well beyond the years of her beauty.

With over 50 films in her filmography, she was among the most well-known actresses of her time, possessing a range of expressions that was quite evident in her well-received roles. She received the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mohnia, a fisher girl in Phani Majumdar directed Baadbaan while the Maharashtra government honoured her with the Best Actress Award for Kanyadaan.

Moving away from her filmy career, she was also the sheriff of Mumbai in 1997, the position of which has been held by names like Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar, etc.

Today her legacy remains alive in her films and in her daughter Tanvi Azmi, who is a well-established actress in herself. Her granddaughter, Saiyami Kher, has also received a warm response in recent years. The elegant actress battled cancer in her last days and passed away on 9th March 2000, an irreparable loss to the film industry.