Smita Patil (17 October 1955 [1]– 13 December 1986[3][4]) was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Regarded among the finest stage and film actresses of her times,[5] Patil appeared in over 80 [2] Hindi and Marathi films in a career that spanned just over a decade.[6] During her career, she received two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. She was the recipient of the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.
Patil graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and made her film debut with Shyam Benegal's[7] Charandas Chor[8] (1975). She became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, a New Wave movement in India cinema, though she also appeared in several mainstream movies throughout her career.[9] Her performances were often acclaimed, and her most notable roles include Manthan[1][8] (1977), Bhumika[1] (1977),[8] Aakrosh (1980), Chakra (1981), Chidambaram (1985) and Mirch Masala[10] (1985).[1][9]
Apart from acting, Patil was an active feminist (in a distinctly
Indian context) and a member of the Women's Centre in Mumbai. She was
deeply committed to the advancement of women's issues, and gave her
endorsement to films which sought to explore the role of women in
traditional Indian society, their sexuality, and the changes facing the
middle-class woman in an urban milieu.[11]
Patil was married to actor Raj Babbar.
She died on 13 December 1986 at the age of 31 due to childbirth
complications. Over ten of her films were released after her death. Her
son Prateik Babbar is a film actor who made his debut in 2008.
Early life
Smita Patil was born in Pune[12] into a Kunbi Maratha family to a Maharashtrian politician, Shivajirao Girdhar Patil and social worker mother Vidyatai Patil, from Shirpur town (Village-Bhatpure) of Khandesh province of Maharashtra State. She studied at Renuka Swaroop Memorial high school in Pune.
Her first tryst with the camera was in the 1970s as a television newscaster for Doordarshan, the Indian government owned television service.[13]
Career
Smita Patil as aged Usha in Bhumika.
Smita Patil belongs to a generation of actresses, including Shabana Azmi
and, like her, who are strongly associated with the radically political
cinema of the 1970s. Her work includes films with parallel cinema
directors like Shyam Benegal,[8] Govind Nihalani, Satyajit Ray (Sadgati 1981)[4] and Mrinal Sen as well as forays into the more commercial Hindi film industry cinema of Mumbai. Patil was working as a TV news reader and was also an accomplished photographer when Shyam Benegal discovered her.[14]
She was an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. In 1977, she won the National Award for 'Best Actress' for her performance in the Hindi film Bhumika.[10]
In her films, Patil's character often represents an intelligent
femininity that stands in relief against the conventional background of
male-dominated cinema (films like Bhumika, Umbartha, and Bazaar).
Smita Patil was a women's rights activist and became famous for her
roles in films that portrayed women as capable and empowered.
"I remained committed to small cinema for about five years ... I refused all commercial offers. Around 1977-78, the small cinema movement started picking up and they needed names. I was unceremoniously dropped from a couple of projects. This was a very subtle thing but it affected me a lot. I told myself that here I am and I have not bothered to make money. I have turned down big, commercial offers because of my commitment to small cinema and what have I got in return? If they want names I'll make a name for myself. So I started and took whatever came my way."
Smita Patil as Sonbai in Mirch Masala, her last film role.
In time she was accepted by commercial filmmakers and from Raj Khosla and Ramesh Sippy to B.R. Chopra,
they all agreed that she was "excellent." Her fans, too, grew with her
new-found stardom. Patil's glamorous roles in her more commercial
films — such as Shakti and Namak Halaal — revealed the permeable boundaries between "serious" cinema and "Hindi cinema" masala in the Hindi film industry.
Her association with artistic cinema remained strong, however. Her
arguably greatest (and unfortunately final) role came when Smita
re-teamed with Ketan Mehta to play the feisty and fiery Sonbai in Mirch Masala (1987). Smita won raves for playing a spirited spice-factory worker who stands up against a lecherous petty official.
Personal life
When she became romantically involved with actor Raj Babbar,[15]
Patil drew severe criticism from her fans and the media, clouding her
personal life and throwing her into the eye of a media storm. Raj Babbar
left his wife Nadira Babbar to marry Patil.[16]
Overnight, Patil was labeled a "home-breaker" by the very feminist
organizations she had worked so assiduously for and became the target of
barbed criticism.[17]
Death and legacy
Smita died from childbirth complications on 13 December 1986,[4] age 31, barely two weeks after having given birth to her son, Prateik Babbar.[18]
Nearly two decades later, one of India's greatest film directors, Mrinal Sen alleged that Smita Patil had died due to gross medical negligence.[19]
In 2011, Rediff.com listed her as the second-greatest actress of all time, behind Nargis.[20] According to Suresh Kohli from Deccan Herald,
"Smita Patil was, perhaps, the most accomplished actress of Hindi
cinema. Her oeuvre is outstanding, investing almost every portrayal with
a powerhouse realistic performance."[21]
Awards
- Winner
- 1978 - National Film Award - Best Actress for Bhumika
- 1978 - Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Marathi for Jait Re Jait
- 1981 - Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Marathi for Umbartha
- 1982 - Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Chakra
- 1982 - National Film Award - Best Actress for Chakra
- 1985 - Padma Shri Award
- Nominated
- 1978 - Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Bhumika
- 1983 - Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Bazaar
- 1984 - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Arth
- 1984 - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Mandi
- 1985 - Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Aaj Ki Aawaz
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Mere Saath Chal | Geeta | |
| 1974 | Samna[3][22] | Kamley | |
| 1975 | Nishant | Rukumani[8] | |
| 1975 | Charandas Chor | Rajkumari (Princess) | |
| 1976 | Manthan[3] | Bindu | |
| 1977 | Bhumika[3][23] | Ushavari | Winner, National Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award |
| 1977 | Jait Re Jait[22] | Chindhi | Marathi Film,Winner, 25th National Film Awards (April 1978) President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Marathi. |
| 1977 | Saal Solvan Chadya | Pinky | Punjabi film |
| 1978 | Kondura / Anugraham | Parvati | Hindi / Telugu film |
| 1978 | Gaman | Khairun Hussain | |
| 1978 | Sarvasakshi | Sujatha | Marathi Film |
| 1980 | Bhavani Bhavai[1] | Ujaan | Gujarati (Hindi dubbed) film |
| 1980 | Aakrosh | Nagi Lahanya | |
| 1980 | Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai | Joan | |
| 1980 | The Naxalites | Ajitha | |
| 1980 | Anveshane | Kannada film | |
| 1981 | Chakra | Amma | Double Winner, Filmfare Best Actress Award
National Film Award for Best Actress |
| 1981 | Sadgati | Jhuria | TV |
| 1981 | Tajurba | ||
| 1982 | Baazar | Najma | Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award |
| 1982 | Shakti | Roma Devi | |
| 1982 | Namak Halaal | Poonam | |
| 1982 | Umbartha[1][3] | Sulabha Mahajan | Marathi Film, Dubbed as Subah in Hindi
Winner, Marathi Rajya Chitrapat Puraskar for Best Actress |
| 1982 | Sitam | Meenakshi | |
| 1982 | Dard Ka Rishta | ||
| 1982 | Bheegi Palkein | Shanti | |
| 1982 | Badle Ki Aag | Bijli | |
| 1982 | Dil-E-Naadan | Sheela | |
| 1982 | Arth | Kavita Sanyal | Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award |
| 1983 | Mandi | Zeenat[8] | Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award |
| 1983 | Ghungroo | Kesarbai | |
| 1983 | Ardh Satya[3][23] | Jyotsna Gokhale | |
| 1983 | Qayamat | Shashi | |
| 1983 | Haadsa | Asha | |
| 1983 | Chatpati | ||
| 1984 | Aaj Ki Aawaz | Rajni Deshmukh | Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award |
| 1984 | Raavan | Ganga | |
| 1984 | Pet Pyaar Aur Paap | ||
| 1984 | Mera Dost Mera Dushman | Lali | |
| 1984 | Tarang[3] | Janki | |
| 1984 | Shapath | Shanti | |
| 1984 | Kanoon Meri Mutthi Mein | ||
| 1984 | Giddh: The Vulture | Hanumi | |
| 1984 | Anand Aur Anand | Kiran | |
| 1984 | Farishta | Kashibai | |
| 1984 | Hum Do Hamare Do | ||
| 1984 | Kasam Paida Karne Waale Ki | Aarti | |
| 1985 | Chidambaram[3] | Shivagami | Malayalam film |
| 1985 | Ghulami | Sumitra Sultan Singh | |
| 1985 | Debshishu | Bengali film [24] | |
| 1985 | Aakhir Kyun ? | Nisha | |
| 1985 | Mera Ghar Mere Bachche | Geeta Bhargav | |
| 1985 | Jawaab | Rajni / Radha Gupta / Fredi Martis / Salma Hussain | |
| 1986 | Aap Ke Saath | Ganga | |
| 1986 | Amrit | Kamla Shrivastav | |
| 1986 | Dilwaala | Sumitra Devi | |
| 1986 | Dehleez | Deepa | |
| 1986 | Angaarey | Arti Varma | |
| 1986 | Kaanch Ki Deewar | Nisha | |
| 1986 | Anokha Rishta | Dr. Pramila | |
| 1986 | Teesra Kinara | ||
| 1987 | Mirch Masala | Sonbai | |
| 1987 | Dance Dance | Radha | |
| 1987 | Thikana | Shashi Goel | |
| 1987 | Sutradhar | Prerna | |
| 1987 | Insaaniyat Ke Dushman | Lakshmi Nath | |
| 1987 | Ahsaan | ||
| 1987 | Raahee | Rano/Sandhya | |
| 1987 | Nazrana | Mukta | |
| 1987 | Avam | Dr. Shabnam | |
| 1987 | Sher Shivaji | ||
| 1988 | Waaris | Paramjit | |
| 1988 | Hum Farishte Nahin | Roma | |
| 1988 | Akarshan | Special Appearance | |
| 1989 | Galiyon Ke Badshah | Tulsi |
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