Veteran actor Kamini Kaushal has passed away at the age of 98. A source close to the family confirmed the news to SCREEN.
Kamini was one of the most famous actors of the 1950s. She made her debut with Chetan Anand’s 1946 film Neecha Nagar, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She appeared in films like Nadia Ki Baar (1948), Zaidi (1948), Shabnam (1949), Biraj Bahu (1954), Jellore (1958) and Shaheed (1965). Her last appearance was in Aamir Khan’s film Laal Singh Chaddha. Before this, she was seen playing Shahid Kapoor’s grandmother in the 2019 film Kabir Singh.
She was born as Uma Sood, Kamini told SCREEN in 2017 That she was “bullied” in the film world after she completed her graduation with English honors from Lahore. “I was studying at Kinnaird College for Women in Lahore then, and my first reaction was ‘no’. I heard from somewhere that the film industry is not a good place for girls,” she said.
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It was rumored that Kamini and Dilip Kumar were in love with each other but they never talked about it. In fact, Kamini married her brother-in-law because she promised her dying sister that she would take care of her two daughters. She also worked with Raj Kapoor in his first film Jail Yatra in 1947, and after that, she was also a part of RK Films’ debut film Aag. She once shared with PTI, “Each one of my heroes was different from the other. Raj was very outgoing and was always fooling around a lot on the sets. He was a fun-loving guy. Dev was honest and passionate about his craft. Dilip, like me, was easy-going and I was more comfortable working with him. We have done many films together.”
By the mid-1960s, she moved on to author-backed character parts that made a strong impact. She did Do Raaste (1969), Prem Nagar (1974) and Maha Chor (1976) at this stage.
Even after his retirement from the world of films, Kamini made rare appearances in films. She appeared in the film Chennai Express starring Shah Rukh Khan in 2013. “I couldn’t say no. I thought I should do a film with Shah Rukh Khan,” she shared with SCREEN.
(Tags for translation) Kamini Kaushal has died
