Nutan Behl (née Samarth) (4 June 1936 – 21 February 1991), better known as Nutan,
was an Indian actress. She appeared in more than 70 Hindi films in a
career spanning over four decades. Regarded as one of the finest female
actors in the history of Hindi cinema,[1][2] Nutan was noted for playing unconventional parts, and her performances often received praise and accolades.[3]
Nutan started her career at the age of 14 in the 1950 film Hamari Beti, directed by her mother Shobhna Samarth. She subsequently starred in such films as Nagina and Humlog (both 1951). Her role in Seema (1955) garnered her wider recognition and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
She continued playing leading roles through the 1960s until the late
1970s and went on win the award on four other occasions for her roles in
Sujata (1959), Bandini (1963), Milan (1967) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978). Some of her other films of this period include Sone Ki Chidiya (1958), Anari (1959), Chhalia (1960), Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (1963), Saraswatichandra (1968), Anuraag (1972) and Saudagar (1973).
In the 1980s, Nutan started playing character roles and continued
working until shortly before her death. She portrayed mostly motherly
roles in such films as Saajan Ki Saheli (1981), Meri Jung (1985) and Naam (1986). Her performance in Meri Jung earned her a sixth and last Filmfare Award, this time in the Best Supporting Actress
category. Nutan holds the record of five wins of the Best Actress Award
at Filmfare, which was held only by her for over 30 years until it was
matched by her niece Kajol in 2011; she is overall the most-awarded actress in the female acting categories at Filmfare, with six awards alongside Jaya Bachchan.[4]In 1974, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
Nutan was married to Rajnish Behl from 1959 till her death of cancer in 1991. Their son, Mohnish Behl is a character actor in Hindi films and television.
Early life
Nutan was born into a Marathi family of four children as Nutan Samarth to director-poet Kumarsen Samarth and his actress wife Shobhna Samarth.[5]
Nutan was the eldest child of actress Shobhna Samarth. She had three
other siblings, 2 younger sisters and a younger brother. Her younger
sister Tanuja is also an actress, and Chatura, who did not work in Bollywood. Her parents separated when she was still a child. Kajol, Tanuja's daughter, is an actress.
Career
Nutan is related to many of the screen stars of the past fifty years (see Mukherjee-Samarth family (film)).
She started her career as actress as a fourteen-year-old in Hamari Beti (1950). This film was produced by her mother, Shobhana. In 1952 she was the winner of Miss India.
Her first big break was Seema, for which she won her first Filmfare Best Actress Award. She followed her success with a romantic comedy, Paying Guest, in which she co-starred with Dev Anand. In 1959 she starred in two hit films, Anari (with Raj Kapoor) and Bimal Roy's Sujata (with Sunil Dutt). In the 1960s and 1970s she had many more successful films including Chhalia (1960), Saraswatichandra (1968), Devi (1970) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978).
In 1960 she starred opposite Raj Kapoor once again in Manmohan Desai's Chhalia. She received another Filmfare nomination for the role. In a film review at the time, Filmfare
wrote, "As the unfortunate girl disowned by her relatives for no fault
of hers, Nutan puts over a superb and memorable portrayal."[6]
She formed a popular screen couple with co-star Dev Anand and the two acted in four films together - Paying Guest (1957), Baarish (1957), Manzil (1960) and Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963).
In 1963, Nutan starred in Bimal Roy's socio-realist Bandini as Kalyani, a young prisoner who was convicted after poisoning the wife of her lover (Ashok Kumar). The story follows her life in prison and how later she has to make a choice between her past love and a young prison doctor (Dharmendra) who fell in love with her. Nutan had to be persuated to act in the film as she had quit acting post marriage.[7] Bandini
was a major critical success, which was attributed by critics mostly to
Nutan's portrayal, which regarded as one of the finest performances in
the history of Hindi cinema.[8] The film won the Filmfare Award for Best Movie and she received her third Best Actress Award. The Bengal Film Journalists' Association,
while ranking the film as the third-best Indian film of the year,
acknowledged her with the Best Actress (Hindi section) award.[9]
Author and critic Dinesh Raheja wrote, "Sans screaming hysteria-nics,
Nutan puts across one of the finest performances seen on Hindi screen.
She recognised and was perfectly in tandem with Kalyani's innate
strength of character."[10] Film and theatre critic Gautaman Bhaskaran wrote for The Hindu,
"Nutan as Kalyani gave perhaps her career's best performance.
Splendidly expressive, her understated role is something that cannot be
easily matched by today's painted heroines. Fear and anger show up so
lividly in Nutan's eyes that they haunt you long after you have walked
out of the theatre."[11] In 2010, Filmfare included her performance in its "80 Iconic Performances" list.[12] Anupama Chopra
included the film in her list of "The 20 Best Hindi Films Ever Made",
calling her role "one of Hindi cinema’s most complex and fully realized
female characters," and further noting, "This was the role of a lifetime
and Nutan, who ... gave it all. Her face raged with a grand passion and
a quiet grace."[13]
Her fourth Filmfare Award came for Milan (1967). She starred opposite Amitabh Bachchan in 1973's Saudagar
(1973), for which she received a sixth Filmfare nomination and a third
BFJA award. In 1978, she made an astonishing return to the screen as the
righteous Sanjukta Chauhan in Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki
(1978). For this performance, she received an eighth Filmfare career
nomination and won her fifth Filmfare best actress award, at the age of
42. She thus became a record holder in the category, having won five
award for Best Actress at Filmfare. At age 42, she is also the oldest
winner of the award. Nutan was perhaps the only actress of her
generation to command leading roles in her 40s, with tremendous success.
Following this, she starred in Saajan ki Saheli (1981), as an ignorant, jealous wife to a husband who knowingly befriends the daughter she abandoned at childbirth.
In the remaining 1980s she played roles in blockbuster films such as Meri Jung (1985), Naam (1986) and Karma (1986). Karma was notable for being the first time she was paired with actor Dilip Kumar. For Mere Jung she won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her last film released while she was alive was Kanoon Apna Apna in 1989. She died in 1991 of cancer. Two of her films Naseebwala (1992) and Insaniyat (1994) were released after her death.
Legacy
Nutan was noted for her willingness to play unconventional roles and
several of her roles were labelled "path-breaking". M.L. Dhawan from The Tribune
wrote, "When squeakers and screamers ruled the roost, Nutan fine-tuned
her dialogue delivery with an evocative voice. A natural throw was the
hallmark of Nutan’s dialogue delivery. She was low key and mellow as she
was peppery and sarcastic and yet made a strong impact." According to
Dhawan, "a fleeting expression on her face conveyed much more than
dialogue," and he further noted her for accepting only roles in which
"she either played the main part or at least shared equal footing with
the male counterpart."[3][14]
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Nutan "developed a natural acting style under Bimal Roy's direction."[15]
Actresses like Sadhana and Smita Patil noted Nutan as their influence.[16] Sadhana was once quoted as saying, "If there was any actress I modelled myself in the lines of it was the versatile Nutan in Seema, Sujata and Bandini. Parakh was a film where I really followed Nutan."[17] Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali said of her, "They don't make actresses like her anymore."[18]
In 2011, Rediff.com listed her as the third-greatest actress of all-time.[19]
Nutan’s narrative is depicted in the book Nutan – Asen Mi Nasen Mi
written by famous Marathi author Lalita Tamhane. The book can be
summarized as one describing Nutan’s life experiences, interactions with
co-actors/family/friends, etc., as told by her to Lalita Tamhane.
Personal life
On 11 October 1959, she married naval Lieutenant-Commander Rajnish Behl. Their son, Mohnish Behl, born in 1963, later entered films as well.
Nutan died in February 1991, of cancer, at the age of 54.
Awards and nominations
Civilian award
- 1974: Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour by the Government of India.
Filmfare Awards
- Filmfare Best Actress Award – Won1956 Seema – Gauri1959 Sujata – Sujata1963 Bandini – Kalyani1967 Milan – Radha1978 Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki – Sanjukta Chouhan
- Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award – Won1985 Meri Jung
- Filmfare Best Actress Award – Nomination1960 Chhalia – Shanti1973 Saudagar – Mahjubhi
- Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award – Nomination1973 Saudagar – Mahjubhi1973 Anuraag – Anu Rai1978 Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki[20] – Sanjukta Chouhan
Other Awards
- BFJA Best Actress Award (Hindi) – Won1963 Bandini[21] – Kalyani1973 Milan[22] – Radha1974 Saudagar[23] – Mahjubhi
Filmography
| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Hamari Beti | Daughter | |
| 1951 | Nagina | ||
| 1951 | Humlog | ||
| 1952 | Shisham | ||
| 1952 | Parbat | ||
| 1953 | Laila Majnu | Laila | |
| 1954 | Shabaab | ||
| 1955 | Seema | Gauri | |
| 1956 | Heer | Heer | |
| 1957 | Baarish | Chanda | |
| Paying Guest | Shanti | ||
| Zindagi Ya Toofan | |||
| 1958 | Chandan | ||
| Dilli Ka Thug | |||
| Kabhi Andhera Kabhi Ujala | |||
| Sone Ki Chidiya | Lakshmi | ||
| Aakhri Daao | |||
| 1959 | Anari | Aarti Sohanlal | |
| Kanhaiya | Shanno | ||
| Sujata | Sujata | ||
| 1960 | Basant | ||
| Chhabili | |||
| Chhalia | Shanti | ||
| Manzil | Pushpa | ||
| 1962 | Soorat Aur Seerat | ||
| 1963 | Bandini | Kalyani | |
| Dil Hi To Hai | Jameela | ||
| Tere Ghar Ke Samne | Sulekha | ||
| 1964 | Chandi Ki Deewar | ||
| 1965 | Khandaan | Radha | |
| Rishte Naate | Savitri | ||
| 1966 | Chhota Bhai | ||
| Chilaka Gorinka | Telugu film | ||
| Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya | Ashoo, Shabnam | ||
| Kalapi | |||
| 1967 | Dulhan Ek Raat Ki | Nirmala | |
| Laat Saheb | |||
| Milan | Radha | ||
| 1968 | Gauri | Gauri | |
| Saraswatichandra | Kumud Sundari | ||
| 1969 | Bhai Bahen | Mala | |
| 1970 | Maa Aur Mamta | Maya | |
| Devi | Devi | ||
| Maharaja | |||
| Yaadgaar | Bhavna | ||
| 1972 | Anuraag | Anu Rai | |
| Grahan | |||
| 1973 | Saudagar | Mahjubhi | |
| 1975 | Jogidas Khuman | ||
| 1978 | Ek Baap Chhe Bete | ||
| Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki | Sanjukta Chouhan | ||
| Saajan Bina Suhagan | |||
| 1980 | Saajan Ki Saheli | Kunti Kumar | |
| 1982 | Jiyo Aur Jeene Do | ||
| 1983 | Rishta Kagaz Ka | Suman | |
| 1984 | Yeh Kaisa Farz | ||
| 1985 | Yudh | Savitri Devi | |
| Paisa Yeh Paisa | Laxmi | ||
| Meri Jung | Aarti Deepak Verma | ||
| 1986 | Sajna Sath Nibhana | Shobha Rana | |
| Karma | Mrs Vishwa Pratap Singh | ||
| Naam | Jaanki Kapoor | ||
| 1988 | Main Tere Liye | ||
| 1989 | Kanoon Apna Apna | Mrs. Singh | |
| Mujrim | Yashoda | ||
| 1992 | Naseebwala | Sharda | |
| 1994 | Insaniyat | Shanti Devi |
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